Amazon expands Kansas footprint with plans to build third facility in Wichita metro area
Amazon is expanding its footprint in Kansas with plans to build a 176,000-square-foot last-mile facility that will create roughly 100 jobs in Bel Aire.
The city said Tuesday that the online retail giant has bought 20 acres in the Sunflower Commerce Park in Bel Aire to meet growing customer demand. This marks the company’s third facility in the Wichita metro area, a city of Bel Aire news release said.
“We are thrilled to welcome Amazon to the community,” Bel Aire Mayor Jim Benage said. “Sunflower Commerce Park was designed for just this; to support businesses and drive economic growth.”
Construction is expected to begin soon and will be completed sometime in 2025, the release said.
Last-mile facilities are the final stage in the process, where packages are loaded onto vans for delivery to customers. The new facility will be roughly two miles from major highways and less than 20 miles from two airports.
“Bel Aire’s strategic location with direct access to major highways and reliable workforce made it an ideal choice for this newest last-mile facility,” Amazon economic development manager Jason Vangalis said. “Since opening our first area facility in 2020, we’re excited to grow our footprint in Kansas and create additional jobs as a good employer.”
A 140,000-square-foot Amazon delivery center opened in northeast Wichita in 2020 and a massive 1-million-square-foot fulfillment center in Park City began operating in 2021, The Eagle reported.
Bel Aire is a northeast suburb of Wichita with a population of about 9,537.