JOHNSTON – Amazon.com Services LLC recently took a final step before starting construction on a $290 million fulfillment center in Johnston, buying up 196 acres of private land off Route 6 close to Interstate 195.
Seven deed transfers were recorded with the town, totaling nearly $13 million in property sales.
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The biggest property sale among those was for $6.5 million, the 111 acres of land sold by Lotojosa LLC and The Shelbourne Co. LLC, according to a deed transfer document filed with the town. The next-largest individual property sale among the group was a $4.8 million deal for a 38-acre lot sold by the Cassisi family.
Amazon said the fulfillment center it plans to build on the properties spans 3.8 million square feet and is six stories tall.
Mayor Joseph M. Polisena said recently that the construction project will take 18 months, with an April 2023 target date for opening.
“The sooner, the better,” Polisena said. “It’s an exciting time.”
The Amazon development is coming to Johnston after the town negotiated a 20-year tax stabilization agreement with the company, providing the community with an average of $7.2 million in annual tax revenue over the course of the agreement. That starts with a $5.7 million payment during the first year of operations, ending at $9.1 million 20 years later, for a total of $145.6 million throughout the course of the tax stabilization agreement.
The agreement also obligates Amazon to provide additional funding for the town for traffic improvements, transportation aid, employment training opportunities and public safety, including $1 million for post-construction traffic mitigation and $5.4 million over the course of 10 years toward the cost of public safety operations. In total between taxes and these added benefits, Polisena said Amazon will provide Johnston with $164.6 million over the course of the 20-year agreement.
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.
