Amazon.com taking over American Sales warehouse

[gorja]

Walden Avenue site to be distribution center; more than 500 new jobs anticipated.


http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/n...warehouse.html

[DebLemaster]

Great news for Lancaster!!!

[shortstuff]

That's great news, glad to hear ....

[gorja]

Amazon center in Lancaster will focus on sorting packages
By Jonathan D. Epstein
Published Mon, Jun 12, 2017

A new Amazon distribution center planned for a former supermarket warehouse in Lancaster will focus on sorting packages to speed up delivery times, the global online retailer said Monday.

The new distribution center will be the company's second in New York State and will bring several hundred new jobs to the area after it opens later this year, Amazon confirmed.

A spokeswoman for the Seattle-based firm said the company will launch what it calls a "sortation center" in the vacant warehouse at 4201 Walden Ave. It already has a similar "Prime Now" hub in Manhattan.

That's slightly different from a "fulfillment center," where employees select items from the inventory to fill customer orders, pack them and ship them out, said spokeswoman Lauren Lynch.

By comparison, employees at a "sortation" center use ZIP codes to further sort the customer packages that are sent from fulfillment centers in order to speed up regular delivery, Lynch said. These specialized facilities for smaller geographic areas also allow for packages to arrive at customer homes on Sundays, and provide for later cutoff times for purchases.

Lynch said Amazon considers many factors in deciding where to place new fulfillment or sortation centers, but "most importantly, we want to make sure our facilities are placed as close to the customer as possible" for fast shipping.

"We also look at the workforce, and we've found great talent in abundance in New York state," she added. "We look forward to creating hundreds of jobs to help us better serve customers."

She did not cite how much the company would spend on the project, nor did she specify when the new facility would open, although she added that "we expect it to move quickly." Already, the company has posted job openings online.

The 525,000-square-foot warehouse on 32.26 acres, which had previously been occupied by Dutch supermarket company Ahold USA, is owned by Benderson Development Co., which has been marketing it for lease since December. Built in 1993, the facility has 71 bays and loading docks, plus 80 truck parking spaces and 370 car parking spaces, and ceiling heights of up to 33 feet.

http://buffalonews.com/2017/06/12/am...tation-center/

[yaksplat]

It's kind of a letdown that it's a package sorting facility and not fulfillment.

[roblaw]

It's kind of a letdown that it's a package sorting facility and not fulfillment.

If you were a company 'testing the waters' a bit, perhaps a facility with a lot of room to grow (across the street in the Walden Ave Commerce Park)? Perhaps this is the beginning of a bigger plan. This facility is small'ish for Amazon, but perhaps they would look to build across Walden...

WILD SPECULATION BELOW:
In addition, Amazon is now in the business of moving goods using their own planes (https://www.recode.net/2017/1/31/144...port-prime-air).

This is QUITE a bit of a stretch, but if the airstrip across could be expanded, it might just be able to accommodate Amazon moving goods using their own planes. Again, that is a BIG stretch, but some food for thought. Amazon is currently operating about 40 of it's own planes for moving goods. If you were to 'desire' to expand that operation and run your own regional airstrip near a regional distribution center, would you start from scratch or try to buy and expand something that already exists?

[DebLemaster]

If you were a company 'testing the waters' a bit, perhaps a facility with a lot of room to grow (across the street in the Walden Ave Commerce Park)? Perhaps this is the beginning of a bigger plan. This facility is small'ish for Amazon, but perhaps they would look to build across Walden...

WILD SPECULATION BELOW:
In addition, Amazon is now in the business of moving goods using their own planes (https://www.recode.net/2017/1/31/144...port-prime-air).

This is QUITE a bit of a stretch, but if the airstrip across could be expanded, it might just be able to accommodate Amazon moving goods using their own planes. Again, that is a BIG stretch, but some food for thought. Amazon is currently operating about 40 of it's own planes for moving goods. If you were to 'desire' to expand that operation and run your own regional airstrip near a regional distribution center, would you start from scratch or try to buy and expand something that already exists?

BNIA is the only facility that would be able to accommodate Amazon's planes shown on your link above.
Even with a BQR runway expansion length of 5500', planes that size could never land there.
Even if they could, The Town of Lancaster would have to approve any and all future expansions.

[yaksplat]

A fully burdened 767 would require an 8900 foot runway. Drones on the other hand would not.

[WNYresident]

This is QUITE a bit of a stretch, but if the airstrip across could be expanded, it might just be able to accommodate Amazon moving goods using their own planes. Again, that is a BIG stretch, but some food for thought. Amazon is currently operating about 40 of it's own planes for moving goods. If you were to 'desire' to expand that operation and run your own regional airstrip near a regional distribution center, would you start from scratch or try to buy and expand something that already exists?

That would be nice for the residents who live in that area. They wouldn't have to worry about the smaller planes flying over head any longer.

[gorja]

Originally posted by DebLemaster:
Even if they could, The Town of Lancaster would have to approve any and all future expansions.

And I don't believe they are inclined to grant that approval

[Lee Chowaniec]

That would be nice for the residents who live in that area. They wouldn't have to worry about the smaller planes flying over head any longer.

Are you being sarcastic or simply clueless?

Do you have any knowledge what it would take for even Amazon to change over a private/public airport? And apparently you have no concern about kicking out the small engine aircraft pilots that utilize the current airport. The big issue with those opposing the Lancaster Airport runway expansion was to keep jet aircraft and planes with larger than 79 feet wing spans out.

Excepting for a few rogue pilots buzzing homes during the expansion opposition process the residents took no issue with other aircraft following FAA flight path and altitude regulations.

[WNYresident]

Are you being sarcastic or simply clueless?

Do you have any knowledge what it would take for even Amazon to change over a private/public airport? And apparently you have no concern about kicking out the small engine aircraft pilots that utilize the current airport. The big issue with those opposing the Lancaster Airport runway expansion was to keep jet aircraft and planes with larger than 79 feet wing spans out.

Excepting for a few rogue pilots buzzing homes during the expansion opposition process the residents took no issue with other aircraft following FAA flight path and altitude regulations.

Sarcastic. Now why are you defending the small pilots that people tend to complain about flying over their homes?

[Dan Roman]

If you were a company 'testing the waters' a bit, perhaps a facility with a lot of room to grow (across the street in the Walden Ave Commerce Park)? Perhaps this is the beginning of a bigger plan. This facility is small'ish for Amazon, but perhaps they would look to build across Walden...

WILD SPECULATION BELOW:
In addition, Amazon is now in the business of moving goods using their own planes (https://www.recode.net/2017/1/31/144...port-prime-air).

This is QUITE a bit of a stretch, but if the airstrip across could be expanded, it might just be able to accommodate Amazon moving goods using their own planes. Again, that is a BIG stretch, but some food for thought. Amazon is currently operating about 40 of it's own planes for moving goods. If you were to 'desire' to expand that operation and run your own regional airstrip near a regional distribution center, would you start from scratch or try to buy and expand something that already exists?

How about widening the Erie Canal too so they can bring in container ships , that has the same chance of happening

[jennifer7]

Only in Buffalo, Amazon moving into American Sales warehouse creating a few hundred low paying jobs is newsworthy LOL It's funny Amazon just built another monster fulfilment center in Chandler AZ near I-10 at Elliott Rd and have hiring now banners hanging on it and it's their 8th one in the Phoenix area and it never made the newspaper or tv news. In AZ, Boeing building another plant in AZ to mfg their new 797 model 1000 seat double decker dream airliner in Mesa creating over 10,000 high paying jobs is consirdered news worthy LOL

[Lee Chowaniec]

Sarcastic. Now why are you defending the small pilots that people tend to complain about flying over their homes?

It was never about shutting down the airport or going after the small engine aircraft pilots who followed FAA rules and regulations. These are the pilots that need defending. Not the rogue pilots who were usually found to be pilots associated with management and/or fed the crap that SACL was out to close the airport.

It was always about the $15 million in federal and state grants that was spent to expend an illegally zoned airport with the hidden intent to bring is smaller corporate jets. And now some are thinking that this runway can accommodate cargo jets? Ludicrous; especially with a different minded supervisor, town board and code enforcement officer.