HAMBURG, N.Y. (WIVB) — There’s a prime delivery arriving soon in the Town of Hamburg. Amazon told the Hamburg Industrial Development Agency at its March meeting it will finish and move into a vacant warehouse located at 3920 Bayview Road.

The warehouse was built for the company and finished in March 2022. The projects was approved in February 2021 and construction began just a few months later. The building has sat uninhabited for a year.

“Seeing the building as large as it is and unoccupied with this expansive parking lot was certainly a concern,” Sean Doyle, executive director of the Hamburg IDA, said.

The massive structure has the Amazon electric blue trim at the top and large tractor trailer truck bays facing Route 5. Doyle says the town was beginning to worry Amazon would pull out of the project after pausing it last year. He added Amazon paused many projects and even pulled out of some across the country. The specific design details could’ve made it difficult to find another tenant.

“It was certainly nerve-wracking. Our development agency certainly went to great lengths to bring Amazon into Hamburg and we faced some scrutiny for the tax incentives that were a deciding factor in bringing them in here,” Doyle explained.

Doyle says Amazon plans to finish the interior design and outfit the space with the necessary equipment. He said the multi-billion dollar company blamed the delay on supply chain problems, saying it could not get the robotic gear and conveyors belts necessary.

“They will continue the interior fit out and the hiring to ramp up production for this site for the Fall of 2023,” Doyle added.

This building will be a last mile facility, meaning products will arrive there, be sorted and then distributed to your doorstep. There is no clear opening date for the facility at this time.

Amazon sent the following statement to News 4:

The delivery station in Hamburg remains in our plans and we’re in the early stages of building our hiring and leadership team. Once open, our delivery stations typically employ upwards of 100 people. While we don’t have a specific launch date to share right now, we look forward to bringing these jobs to the region.

Marc Heintzman, Amazon Spokesperson

Walden Development Group is the developer in the project and owns the structure. It is in charge of upkeep during the delay.

The Town of Hamburg says it is ready for the company to move-in to ship out goods to Western New York.

“Our eagerness is the same as our residents to bring this facility to full operation,” Doyle concluded. “40,000 vehicles drive Route 5 every day and it is very visible here. There was scrutiny that the warehouse was not in operation.”

The Town of Niagara also approved the construction of another Amazon warehouse at the intersection of Lockport Road and Packard Road.

The new, state-of-the-art first-mile mega distribution center received unanimous site plan approval by the Niagara Town Board in July 2022.

Amazon issued the following statement to News 4 about this project plan:

The status of the Niagara project remains the same since gaining necessary approvals from the Town of Niagara last summer. While additional steps remain, we are grateful for the support of the town and the Niagara County IDA, and we will continue to work closely with all stakeholders as plans progress.

Marc Heintzman, Amazon Spokesperson

It is unclear when shovels will go into the ground on the Niagara project.