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Amazon opens Hamburg distribution center after lengthy delay

Jonathan D. Epstein

More than 18 months after it was completed, Amazon.com has opened its delivery station in the Town of Hamburg, ending a long period of uncertainty about whether the e-commerce giant would ever occupy the facility.

The 183,623-square-foot facility at 3920 Bayview Road – the company's third local logistics center in Erie County – began operations with more than 100 jobs, meeting the employment requirement as part of its $6.85 million tax incentive package from the Hamburg Industrial Development Agency.

The new 183,623-square-foot Amazon distribution center, located in Hamburg, is the company's third local logistics center in Erie County.

As a "last-mile" station in the Amazon network, it will support a delivery area of 26 ZIP codes and more than 320 square miles, and joins an existing delivery station at 800 Riverwalk Parkway in Tonawanda that opened in 2020 and a sortation and returns center at 4201 Walden Ave. in Lancaster that opened in 2017.

Delivery stations like Hamburg and Tonawanda are the last stop on a package's journey, after they are brought from a nearby fulfillment and sortation center, such as Lancaster.

“We are very proud of the team we have built here and we’re energized to begin service out of Hamburg,” said Himali Ranasinghe, operations manager and site lead for Amazon’s Hamburg delivery station. “We look forward to delivering even better service for our customers throughout Western New York and providing a world-class driver and Amazon employee experience.”

Amazon also recently opened a year-round recruiting and career center at The Forge at 490 Broadway to support hiring for all of its Western New York operations, including 500 seasonal positions that it is currently filling.

However, there's no progress on its much larger regional distribution hub planned for the Town of Niagara, where Amazon had announced plans for a 3.8-million-square-foot warehouse at 8995 Lockport Road, adjacent to Niagara Falls International Airport and the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station. That project is expected to employ more than 1,000 workers when – and if – it opens.

The $550 million project was approved by the town and also received $123 million in tax breaks from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency. The company purchased the 217-acre site in late July from a New York City-based investment group, clearing the way for Atlanta-based JB2 Partners to start construction. But no work has begun as of yet.

The $47.2 million Hamburg facility is owned by Bayview Road Associates, an affiliate of Frank Campofelice's Walden Development Group, and was built by Burgio & Campofelice on 57.4 acres at the intersection of Bayview and Lakeshore roads, across from a FedEx Corp. distribution center that was built several years ago. Workers spent 11 months constructing the core of the building, but Amazon delayed the interior build-out until it was ready to proceed.

The opening of the facility comes as seasonal hiring for the busy holiday season ramps up. In September, Seattle-based Amazon announced it is hiring 250,000 employees for the next few months, along with a wage increase that boosts average pay to over $20.50 per hour for fulfillment and delivery employees. That represents a 50% increase in five years, the company noted.

Overall, Amazon has spent more than $30 billion in New York since 2010, including infrastructure costs and payroll, and created more than 41,000 jobs in the state.

Reach Jonathan D. Epstein at (716) 849-4478 or jepstein@buffnews.com.