Amazon seeks tax credits for location in Warren County

Amazon is seeking state tax credits to open a location in Warren County.

The e-commerce giant is listed on the agenda for Wednesday’s Ohio Tax Credit Authority meeting for a project in Monroe between Dayton and Cincinnati. The agenda doesn’t describe the scope of the project and the Seattle-based company has yet to make a public statement on this.

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This would be the closest Amazon has gotten yet to a major presence near Dayton as part of its rapid expansion in Ohio, which has been happening parallel to the overall growth of the $500 billion firm. The company has been expanding into everything from alcohol delivery to organic groceries with the acquisition of Whole Foods.

Amazon announced in January that it was investing more than $1 billion into a new hub near Cincinnati at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport and has been hiring thousands for its new Ohio fulfillment centers. The e-commerce company also is on the Ohio Tax Credit Authority agenda for Wednesday for a Cleveland-area project.

While there are not further details available about what the project could be, an Amazon presence in Monroe could mean thousands of jobs if the project were to mirror other Amazon locations in Ohio.

In Etna, just east of Columbus, the facility has more than 3,000 full-time employees who pick, pack and shop customer orders. The massive facility is more than 1 million square feet — about the size of 28 football fields, and holds tens of millions of products with more than 14 miles of conveyor belts weaving throughout the building.

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Simultaneously, the Warren County Port Authority also has been working on a project in Monroe for a 1.3 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility in Park North industrial park on Ohio 63 near Interstate 75.

The port authority board approved a resolution authorizing staff to sign leases and agreements with Industrial Developments International, also known as IDI Gazeley, on the proposed building. The company has not said what company plans to use the warehouse.

The leases and agreements enable IDI to avoid taxes on materials used in constructing the building in the industrial park, east of I-75 and across Ohio 63 from the Miami Valley Gaming racino.

Reporter Lawrence Budd contributed to this story.

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