Amazon’s back with another warehouse, this time in Johnson County

Amazon.com is bringing a new warehouse to the state of Kansas, announcing plans Thursday to open an 800,000-square-foot facility at an industrial park in Edgerton, according to the Kansas Department of Commerce.

The company will employ about 1,000 full-time hourly employees, plus managerial and support workers in the warehouse. They will pick, pack and ship large items such as big-screen televisions, sports equipment and kayaks.

Amazon already operates a general purpose warehouse in Lenexa, which will be unaffected by the new center, according to the state.

“This is good news for Kansas,” Gov. Sam Brownback said in a news release. “In addition to creating 1,000 jobs, Amazon is investing in our state, workforce and the community.”

Amazon closed a warehouse in Coffeyville about 18 months ago, laying off 635 full-time employees and a large number of part-time contract employees, after a decade in the town, when it switched its corporate strategy. The company is now focused on placing warehouses near large urban areas to allow for rapid delivery of products.

A state spokeswoman said she couldn’t disclose whether incentives were used to bring Amazon back, but the commerce news release described the warehouse as a joint effort of the Commerce Department, Kansas Department of Transportation, BNSF, NorthPoint Development, KCP&L, city of Edgerton and Southwest Johnson County Economic Development Corp.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Amazon’s back with another warehouse, this time in Johnson County."