The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amazon 'last-mile' distribution warehouse clears major hurdle
Facility would operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
A developer’s pitch for a large Amazon package storage and delivery warehouse cleared a major hurdle this week in Chamblee.
The City Council rezoned 24 acres of property offff Catalina Drive, which is north of Dekalb- Peachtree Airport, to make way for a “last- mile” distribution center, according to the pitch by developer Seven Oaks Company
LLC. The 103,000- squarefoot facility will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will be the last stop for thousands of packages before home delivery in metro Atlanta.
Seven Oaks, which is based in Cobb County, said the warehouse will include nine tractor- trailer delivery bays and nearly 500 parking spots for Amazon delivery vans. Kathy Zickert, an attorney representing Seven Oaks, said in February the facility will employ approximately 135 full- time employees and 150 van drivers.
There have been ambitious plans for this plot of land in the past. According to documents fifiled by Seven Oaks, Dekalb County acquired the land in 2002 and rezoned it a year later for the International Village project, a proposed 500,000- square- foot mixed- use development. That projec t would have featured a hotel, conference center, outdoor amphitheater, offi ces, rest aurants and retail. However, work stopped in 2008 after the developer declared bankruptcy, with the Great Recession being the primary factor. The property is currently vacant.
The distribution center i n Chamblee i s expected to open in 2022. It will add to metro Atlanta’s growing stock of package warehouse space spurred by Amazon.
A massive ,700,000square- foot Amazon facility near the Dekalb- Gwinnett county line has been credited with quickly transforming the area. The company also announced a large warehouse construction project in Newnan and recently purchased property in Doraville.
Seven Oaks is also working with Chamblee to develop a new town center in the heart of the city, which will include a new city hall, parking deck, greenspace plaza and hundreds of apartments.