Amazon.com to open warehouse in Schertz

Photo: Express-News Graphic Photo: Express-News Graphic Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Amazon.com to open warehouse in Schertz 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

SCHERTZ — After about six months of negotiations, this city, the Schertz Economic Development Corp. and Guadalupe County have approved about $7.6 million in direct tax incentives to land a $166 million distribution warehouse for Amazon.com.

The 1.26 million-square-foot warehouse, called a fulfillment center, will become the largest facility in Schertz and Guadalupe County, Schertz EDC executive director David Gwin said. It’s expected that the project will create 350 new jobs that will generate about $11 million in annual payroll.

What jobs would pay was not disclosed, but Gwin said that the wage would exceed the minimum standards set by law.

Schertz’s incentive package is a six-year property tax rebate worth nearly $4 million. The EDC approved a $500,000 cash incentive, which is a rebate on permitting fees.

The county also approved a property tax abatement worth about $3.1 million, Gwin said. The county is not responsible for any cash payments.

Additionally, there are conditions for sales tax sharing over a 10-year period where the city and county could realize about $35 million and $11.9 million over that period, respectively. But because state laws don’t allow municipalities to collect sales tax on Internet sales, that part of the agreement is contingent on changes to legislation, Gwin said.

There still are a few minor real estate issues Amazon has to resolve before the deal can be finalized, Gwin said. Those real estate issues weren’t disclosed.

Kelly Cheeseman, a spokeswoman for Amazon.com, said the company had nothing to report about the agreement.

Fulfillment centers are distribution centers for same-day delivery.

More Information Growth in Schertz In 10 years, the property tax base in the city of Schertz has increased 43.6 percent. 2002: $1,005,399,711 2003: $1,105,234,626 2004: $1,285,941,678 2005: $1,397,297,729 2006: $1,423,205,878 2007: $1,787,055,405 2008: $1,926,528,474 2009: $2,064,679,940 2010: $2,058,218,181 2011: $2,122,958,010 2012: $2,307,394,927 Source: the city of Schertz

According to the Amazon Fulfillment website, jobs at Amazon’s fulfillment centers pay about 30 percent more than traditional retail jobs.

As part of a deal with the state comptroller’s office to resolve the e-commerce giant’s past tax liabilities with the state, Amazon pledged to create 2,500 jobs and make $200 million in capital investment in the state. Amazon has been rapidly opening more fulfillment centers around the nation and Canada to increase its same-day delivery capabilities.

The 96-acre site for the Schertz facility is near Interstate 35 at the corner of Enterprise Avenue and Verde Parkway. The permit for the site grading is expected to be approved later this week, and the facility is expected to be operational by fall 2013, Gwin said.

Schertz has won several large industrial projects recently, and its property tax base has increased 43.6 percent in 10 years to more than $2.3 billion according to city figures.

Earlier this year, food distributor Sysco Corp. opened a distribution center and machinery manufacturer and designer Caterpillar Inc. opened a manufacturing plant there.

Last month, the city of Coppell near Dallas approved incentives for a more than 1 million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center there.

Amazon had a distribution center in Irving that closed.

The Austin American-Statesman contributed to this report.

vlucio@express-news.net