The Hudson Valley might be looking at the opening of its very own Amazon warehouse and the company has set its sights on the town of Montgomery in Orange County.
When the Albany Times Union reported in June 2018 that Amazon had built six warehouses with the same dimensions across six different states as the one built in Rensselaer county, speculation began that they had their next location in tow.
The warehouse located at the intersection of 17k and 747 behind Johnny’s Pizzeria & Restaurant, seemed to fit the bill.
Fast forward a few months and a change of ownership, developer USEF Sailfish awaits the approval of Montgomery.
With the potential for 1,060 parking spaces, 225 trailer parking spaces, and a water-waste treatment plant, the proposal goes back to the Industrial Development Agency, needing the approval of a $25.3 million tax break. According to its payment-in-lieu-of-taxes application, the warehouse could create over 800 jobs at a time with an average salary of $32,156. The Hudson Valley is currently home to 38,700 unemployed individuals.
The proposed facility would be a 1,010,880-square-foot non-sortable fulfillment center (one of approximately 75 across the United States,) being the largest building in the area.
The site in question would be built upon 190 acres of land and house items such as outdoor wares. With an approximate market value of $1 trillion, residents continue to discuss the effect Amazon’s presence and it’s payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) arrangement could leave on the community.
The PILOT arrangement is this: 10% property tax bill would be assessed during the first five years. Then, the tax bill would gradually rise from 10% to 50%, with the company paying the full $2.78 million amount annually, under the most recent tax rates, by year 15.
Residents and town officials voiced concern in a recent public hearing over giving tax benefits to a company with one of the highest market values globally. Their current market cap is $ 926.113 billion.
