By Oliver Mantyk
ORANGE COUNTY, N.Y.–The controversial Amazon warehouse and distribution center proposed for the Town of Wawayanda has been blocked due to the building being well over the building height limit. The height of the building was a make or break deal for Amazon, and further development seems unlikely.
On June 12, the Town of Wawayanda Zoning Board blocked the warehouse project due to the building’s height of 104 feet. The area’s limit is 65 feet. The board did not grant the warehouse an exemption.
The proposed 3.2 million square foot Amazon warehouse was to be built on a sand and gravel mine at 22 McBride Road. Amazon partnered with Scannell Properties for the project. The two companies have often cooperated in constructing distribution centers.
The cost of building the warehouse and grounds was estimated to be $607 million. The construction was expected to create about 1,797 direct jobs, like construction workers, electricians, and technicians. In the long run, the warehouse would have supported 750 full time jobs.
Scannell Projects representative Matt Boon told the zoning board at a public hearing on June 16, “There is no feasible alternative to the taller building that meets [Amazon’s] goal.”
The height of the building is necessary due to equipment size.
Amazon had been on a winning streak.
The night before the decision, the project got a green light from the planning board, which said the height excessive would not create a significant negative environmental impact on the area. The Orange County Industrial Agency was also in support of major tax breaks for the warehouse, which would have amounted to over $100 million in the next 20 years.
The warehouse was controversial in the Orange County community. Many residents made their voices heard at public hearings, for and against it. A group strongly opposed to the warehouse was a group of Amazon warehouse employees in other parts of Orange County. Major complaints from them were that Amazon was an anti-union employer and didn’t pay enough to live on—an average salary of $38,413.
Top issues from the locals included heavy road usage by future warehouse employees and the increase in air pollution that would cause. Although most heavy trucks would be using the nearby State Route 6 and the I-84, the hundreds of employees would likely be using county roads more often. Some were concerned that the increased traffic would be a disturbance and erode the roads.
