Miami-Dade sells lot so Amazon can build warehouse in Naranja
Miami-Dade County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to sell a vacant lot at 13200 S.W. 272nd St. in South Miami-Dade to Amazon. The site could be the e-commerce giant’s biggest warehouse in South Florida.
Miami-Dade County commissioners voted unanin imously Wednesday to sell a vacant lot at 13200 S.W. 272nd St. in South MiamiDade to Amazon. The site could be the e-commerce giant’s biggest warehouse South Florida.
The sale for $22,056,853 will allow a distribution center of at least one million square feet to be built in the lot near the Homestead
Air Reserve Base.
By the year 2023, the Naranja facility will create at least 325 permanent full-time jobs, with an average annual salary of $32,000, according to an economic impact analysis submitted to the county on March 25. The site will be used to distribute products that include food and grocery items.
Amazon will invest $80 million in the facilities. The company will also pay the county $22 million, with 25% of that going toward the Miami-Dade Affordable Housing Trust Fund and the remaining proceeds
going to the Homestead Air Reserve Base Fund to further economic development in the area, according to a news release.
“Overall, this is a wonderful benefit to the county because this particular area especially has been very low in jobs ever since Hurricane Andrew,” Commissioner Daniella Levine
Cava said in support of the project sponsored by District 9 Commissioner Dennis C. Moss. “It’s a huge area of land that is undeveloped and available for commerce.”
Addressing concerns about allegations of worker mistreatment against Amazon, Levine Cava, who represents District 8 adjacent to the facility site, said the county will hold the company accountable.
“They’re going to have to provide living wages and good working conditions,” she said.
While the distribution site may not be enough to power the economy in South Miami-Dade, it’s a good addition, said James Kohnstamm, executive vice president for economic development for the Miami-Dade Beacon Council.
“What’s important is these are entry-level positions that pay $15 plus an hour and they do have some pretty robust training programs, so while we are focused on high wage jobs, we also need to ensure there’s jobs for everybody in the community,” Kohnstamm said.
Amazon’s foray into Opa-locka last year culminated in a 855,000 squarefoot facility that employed 1,500 full-time workers.
In an email, Amazon declined to elaborate on the differences between the two facilities.
“Amazon is a dynamic business, and we are constantly exploring new locations and weighing a variety of factors when deciding where to develop future sites to best serve customers. However, we have a policy of not commenting on our future road map,” according to Owen Torres, public relations manager for Amazon in South Florida. “This land purchase in Miami-Dade County provides us with the flexibility to quickly respond to our future network needs.”