Amazon announced plans Tuesday for a second distribution centre in Ottawa, this one purporting to bring 1,000 jobs to Barrhaven.
The new 450,000-square-foot facility is slated for the Citigate business park in Ottawa’s south end. The warehouse would sit behind the plaza’s Costco, backing onto Highway 416 in the west and Fallowfield Road to the north.
Amazon said in a statement the site is expected to mostly handle smaller goods such as books, electronics and toys. The e-commerce giant bills the new Ottawa warehouse as its newest “robotics fulfilment centre,” with employees and robotics working side-by-side to fill orders.
The new development plan comes less than a year after work wrapped up on Amazon’s one-million-square-foot project on Boundary Road, just off Highway 417 in Ottawa East. That warehouse was expected to bring 600 jobs to Ottawa.
Amazon’s new fulfilment centre appears to be part of a much larger proposal for the site that would see a 30-metre-tall, 2.7-million-square-foot facility built.
The full facility would feature more than 2,000 parking spaces and 50 loading bays, with potential for an additional office tower in future phases of the project.
According to federal incorporation records, members of the Montreal-based Broccolini family — the developers behind both Amazon’s planned warehouse and its existing Boundary Road facility — are also behind the full 2.7-million-square-foot project, dubbed “Python.”
Documents submitted to the city for the Python proposal state it is anticipated to be completed in a single phase with full occupancy by 2021.
The entire industrial complex would have capacity for 1,040 employees during peak seasons, according to development plans.
It was not immediately clear whether Amazon plans to lease only a portion of the development to start or eventually look to lease the full 2.7 million square feet.
Amazon did not return requests for comment and Broccolini’s spokesperson did not respond to provide clarification on Tuesday afternoon.
According to a traffic analysis submitted to the city, peak traffic for the project is expected between October and January — the busy holiday shopping season — with most shipping activity between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. During this time, traffic volumes are expected to hit peaks of 30 to 46 trucks per hour.
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The report said a “majority” of traffic generated by the development will arrive and depart the area via Fallowfield Road, Strandherd Drive and Highway 416.
Nearby arterial roads such as Hélène Campbell Road, Maravista Drive and Kennevale Drive are not anticipated to see “significant” traffic impacts as a result of the project, according to the developer’s report.
Mayor Jim Watson said in a statement Tuesday that he was “pleased that Amazon has once again chosen to invest in Ottawa.”
Barrhaven Coun. Jan Harder said in her statement the new facility would help to “diversify” the employment base in the Ottawa suburb.
The new project would mark Amazon’s eighth facility in Ontario and its 14th across Canada.
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