NLR center said planned by Amazon

Amazon plans to open a “new concept” distribution center in North Little Rock that will create 60 to 100 local jobs by this fall, Mayor Joe Smith and the site’s property owner said Monday.

The distribution center, to be 30,000-40,000 square feet, will be the first Amazon distribution center in Arkansas, said Norman Clifton, who owns the 4½-acre property at 1920 N. Locust St., just south of the Interstate 30/40 interchange. Amazon has proposed a 1 ½-year lease with an option for an

additional two years, Clifton said.

A larger, permanent facility will be built if the center is profitable, “which I don’t see why it won’t be,” Clifton said.

“We’re presented with an excellent opportunity for the city and for myself to bring an international company into our city,” Clifton told the North Little Rock City Council on Monday evening.

Clifton, who is longtime chairman of the city’s Planning Commission, appeared before the council to request the property be rezoned from residential and conservation to an industrial classification for the planned modular warehouse. Council members approved the ordinance 8-0. The site is on the north side of the former Pine Street Elementary School.

“We’re excited,” Smith said during the council meeting. He added that he talked with Amazon representatives last week and “pledged to them we’ll do everything we can do to assure there are no roadblocks to this.”

A spokesman for Amazon said in an email to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the Seattle-based company wouldn’t comment on “speculation” about a project.

Clifton, however, told the City Council he had an email from Amazon on Monday that

said the company was “excited and ready to get going.”

“They want to get up and start on the infrastructure by Sept. 1,” Clifton said in an interview. “This is a new concept for them and they’re going to test it in this market and on this property. They’re

excited about getting in here and getting going. This will be the only facility like this in Arkansas.”

Clifton said in the interview that Amazon had been looking for a property in the central Arkansas market when he was contacted. The company

sent representatives to assess the Locust Street property and get information on the necessary city permits and requirements. Once they confirmed interest in the site, Clifton brought it to the mayor’s attention, he said.

“If this proves successful, and they think it will … they’re prepared to build a 100,000-square-foot building and open up this distribution market,” Clifton said.

A $10 million building permit was filed this summer for a 400,000-square-foot Amazon distribution center in Memphis, according to a July 11 article in the Memphis Business Journal. Amazon began construction in November on a 615,000-square-foot distribution center near the Memphis International Airport, according to the same article.

The North Little Rock property previously was used to store construction materials used for improvements to North Little Rock High School, Smith said, so it is already fenced and the site is ready for new construction.

“Their goal is to have it up and running before the holiday season,” Smith said. “It’s perfect for them to come in and put something up quickly to prepare for the Christmas holidays.

“As they grow they’ll look for a larger location here,” Smith said. “We’re real excited about that, starting a relationship with them.”