With recession talk again hovering over the Ocean State, it’s hard to see Johnston’s massive Amazon.com Inc. fulfillment center as anything other than a godsend for the town.
Construction of the facility that opened last November created 2,200 jobs. And the company has already filled 1,000 of 1,500 projected full-time jobs, making it Johnston’s second-largest employer.
The town expects to collect $145.6 million in property tax revenue over 20 years from a business that has invested $400 million in the community.
“Any town in the country would want more jobs, more tax revenue for its residents,” Mayor Joseph M. Polisena Jr. told Providence Business News.
But as this week’s cover story reports, the so-called “Amazon Effect” has not been positive for everyone in the community.
Okee’s Old Fashioned Amusements co-owner Luann Rossi says the only effect she has seen is increased traffic. It’s slowed her own delivery drivers, along with school buses she drives.
And others have questioned whether the town should have extracted more from the company in annual tax revenue and a better pay scale for workers.
Studies have also been mixed about Amazon’s long-term effects on competing businesses, with new Amazon jobs in some communities coming at the expense of lost jobs at other local retailers.
The early results in Johnston, however, are mostly positive.
Amazon has also committed to a community partnership program and will contribute $550,000 annually for five years to help support local small businesses.
“They are very engaged with our community,” Polisena said.