Euclid Warehouse to Become Next Home for Amazon

By Stan Bullard, reporter for Crain's Cleveland Business

    

Marking the transition of a huge property from traditional retail to e-commerce, Amazon announced on Thursday, Sept. 28, that it has agreed to lease a 1.7million-square-foot fulfillment center that will be constructed on the site of long-distressed Euclid Square Mall.

Investment in the property is expected to exceed $175 million. In a twist from typical single-story warehouses, the property will have three floors that will create a property with 1.7 million square feet of space. It will have a footprint of 650,000 square feet -- a site with enough land for 11 football fields. 

When the warehouse is finished in 2019 on the site south of I-90 between East 260th Street and Babbitt Avenue, Amazon said in a news release that it will hire about 1,000 people to work there. Staffers will pick, pack and ship customer items such as electronics, books, housewares and toys.

Sanjay Shah, Amazon's vice president of North America customer fulfillment, credited two factors for the site's selection in its release.

"Our growth in Ohio is the result of an outstanding workforce and incredible customers," Shah said.

Amazon committed to lease the property from Seefried Industrial Properties of Atlanta, a serial warehouse supplier for the online retailer.

Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail was quoted in the release as saying, "While some saw a vacant mall, we saw an opportunity for growth and development. This project is a fantastic addition to the investment we are seeing in our industrial corridor and will provide valuable employment opportunities for our residents."

Without naming the name of the prospective user earlier this year, the suburb OK'd incentives for the project, rezoned the site, and approved designs for the fulfillment center.

State and local economic development officials, tongue-tied by long practice as the project was pursued, were effusive about the advent of Amazon. That is especially the case because it is in addition to a previously approved plan that also replaces Randall Park Mall in North Randall with a warehouse that will be 25% larger than the one in Euclid.

Joe Roman, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, issued a statement that read, "Amazon's confidence in Greater Cleveland continues. In the last 30 days Amazon has committed to creating 3,000 new jobs, investing more than $350 million of capital and repurposing over 125 acres of 'dead-mall' property. The GCP remains committed to the company's long-term success in Northeast Ohio."

Roman acknowledged that securing the project too collaboration from public and private partners, including JobsOhio, TeamNEO, the city of Euclid, Cuyahoga County, the Ohio Department of Transportation and the State of Ohio. GCP assisted the project with technical and other forms of assistance, and will provide ongoing services to the company through construction and once the project is complete.

Bill Koehler, CEO of Team NEO, said, "The economic development system worked well at all levels to ensure Amazon chose Euclid for this investment."

Cuyahoga County Executive Amond Budish added, "These Amazon projects provide two great advantages: 1) 3,000 new jobs; and 2) valuable repurposing of two dead malls." Cuyahoga County, he said, will support the company with workforce development and infrastructure assistance as necessary to ensure the project's success.

Before proceeding, Seefried has to close on the purchase of the mall and adjoining properties to assemble a nearly 70-acre site as well as demolish the mall and retail buildings on the site.

The move returns industrial use to the site.

A Chase Brass & Copper Co. mill was put on the property in 1929. It was razed in 1975 by Jacobs Visconsi Jacobs Co., a predecessor of Richard E. Jacobs Group of Westlake, to develop the mall."