LANSING, MI -- Amazon will score $4 million in state grants if they go forward with plans to build a distribution center in Kent County and hire about 1,000 workers.

The multi-million-dollar award is meant to sway Amazon away from alternative sites in Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, according to a Michigan Economic Development Corporation memo.

"To meet the company's hiring needs, there is concern about the availability and ability to hire the appropriate workforce," according to the May 22 memo. "This incentive assistance will help the company offset the costs related to talent recruitment and will make the case that Michigan is the prime location for this project."

State and Gaines Township officials have been tight-lipped about the proposed 1 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution set to be located on roughly 100 acres of vacant land belonging to Steelcase in Gaines Township.

It was code-named "Project Rapids," and only officially revealed to be an Amazon project Tuesday morning, May 22, when Michigan Strategic Fund board members approved the state award.

The $4 million award will be doled out over three years based on Amazon hitting employment goals set by the state, according to approved grant proposal.

If Amazon creates 475 new jobs by August 2019, they'll receive up to $1.9 million. The following year, they need to create 50 additional jobs to get up to $200,000.

The final year, 2020, Amazon must create another 475 jobs to get up to $1.9 million.

Amazon is expected to invest $150 million through construction expenses and purchases of "state of the art robotics and logistics equipment," according to the MEDC memo. The warehouse will serve the Midwest.

The proposed warehouse will be on the corner of 68th Street and Patterson Avenue, about 10 to 15 miles south of downtown Grand Rapids and close to the Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

A project rendering shows a two-story, rectangular building ringed with windows, and surrounded parking that can hold about 2,700 parking spaces. Neighbors in the area previously expressed worry that the facility will bring more congestion and noise and decrease the values of their homes.

In addition to state incentives, Gaines Township will offer Amazon a tax abatement "which amounts to a reduction in property taxes of approximately 50 percent," according to the memo. It doesn't state how long the abatement will last.

Gaines Township officials said they were never asked about granting a tax abatement but are open to considering one should Amazon ask.

"No one has made those kinds of assurances," township planner Mark Sisson said. "We're willing to work with Amazon and are excited to do so."

Since December 2016, the state of Michigan has awarded Amazon some $17 million in development grants for two projects in Wayne County and one in Macomb County.

Amazon must accept the award by September, with an offer extension until November possible.