In what may very well be a significant financial boon for town, a large Amazon warehouse is slated to open in Milpitas within the subsequent few years, serving as its first same-day ship facility within the South Bay.
Milpitas Metropolis Council accepted the plans for the brand new warehouse Tuesday night time regardless of disputes over environmental evaluation and labor negotiations.
“I think this is a wonderful thing,” stated Milpitas Mayor Carmen Montano. “It’ll really improve the site and it’ll create a lot of jobs and furthermore will create sales tax.”
For many years, 1000 Gibraltar Drive was used as a company campus with 4 industrial workplace buildings. Whereas medical gadget firm Lifescan, Inc. operated on the location for practically three many years, it left in 2015 and the location has been vacant since 2018.
Since 2021, the location has been eyed for a warehouse mission, with an software to demolish the present buildings to make means for a single warehouse of practically half 1,000,000 sq. ft accepted that 12 months. Amazon then purchased the rights to construct the warehouse, however held off on development in the course of the financial upheaval of the pandemic. After reapplying in September 2024 with an up to date plan for the warehouse, the plan was accepted by the Milpitas Planning Fee September 10.
The mission consists of a 487,564 sq. foot, one-story industrial constructing with workplace area on the practically 29 acre website. The warehouse could be a specialised supply heart meant to permit for supply of sure Amazon merchandise in a four-to-five hour window utilizing gig-style supply drivers to ship out items.
There are solely two different same-day supply services within the Bay Space — in Richmond and Brisbane serving San Francisco and the East Bay — and Amazon representatives say the brand new warehouse will develop same-day supply to the South Bay.
“We are looking forward to expanding our same-day delivery capabilities in the Bay Area, offering customers even faster delivery options in Santa Clara County and surrounding communities,” stated Amazon spokesperson Natalie Banke.
The location is anticipated to create over 360 jobs on the location, not together with the gig-style drivers, in keeping with a report by metropolis workers.
Quickly after approval, nevertheless, Mitchell M. Tsai Regulation Agency filed an enchantment on behalf of Carpenters Native Union No. 405, arguing that the mission’s expanded footprint would require further evaluation to make sure there wouldn’t be impacts to potential flooding on the website and requested the mission approval to be revoked.
Nonetheless, the developer stated that this enlargement – round a 6% enhance within the related space of the location – was effectively throughout the scope of the common approval course of, and Milpitas metropolis workers argued that the up to date website would truly lower flood danger on the website by updating the location to fashionable requirements.
Whereas representatives for the Carpenters Native Union 405, maintained that the dispute was about environmental points, a lot of the commentary from the general public centered not on trivialities of drainage requirements, however the labor that will be constructing the mission. The council chambers was filled with members of various unions in yellow and orange vests, who stood up in alternating teams as their members spoke.
“We believe (families in Milpitas) will be directly impacted by the environmental consequences of this project,” stated Doug Chesshire, senior consultant for the Carpenters Native Union No. 405, which might not be engaged on the mission. “The city should require this project to build with contractors, hire locally, pay prevailing wages, provide health care and utilize apprentices from state certified apprenticeship training programs.”
Nonetheless, the mission’s developer, Panattoni Improvement Firm, argued it had long-standing relationships with unions, lots of whom had native staff on the initiatives.
“This isn’t a flood or drainage issue – it’s about a labor agreement,” stated Steve Beauchamp Senior Improvement Supervisor at Panattoni Improvement Firm. He maintained that the developer had partnered with six unions for this mission, and a number of other members of these unions stood in help of the warehouse’s approval.
“I just want to ask for your support in this project, because you’re not only putting money and food on the table for the people working there, but also … for the people that are going to be working in that building,” stated Jose Arriaga of the Laborers Worldwide Union of North America 270. “God bless the carpenters, but there are many other unions that are going to be working on this project.”
Whereas the mission nonetheless must clear some bureaucratic hurdles, the approval clears essentially the most vital hurdle for the warehouse. In keeping with metropolis paperwork, development is slated to start in early 2026 and the mission ought to open in early 2027.
