It's Official: Amazon Planning Large Center For Oak Creek

OAK CREEK, WI -- It's probably the worst-kept secret in Oak Creek, however now it's official: officials in Oak Creek are working with Amazon to plan a four-story fulfillment center in Oak Creek.

According to a Common Council meeting agenda for Nov. 20, city officials are considering creating a tax incremental finance district for Amazon.

What is a TIF district?

A TIF district is a development tool municipalities can use to attract business. The way it works is that a financing district is created and a base value of that district is established by the taxing jurisdictions. The increased value of the property is still charged at the base rate, but the district uses the increased tax revenue to pay for the infrastructure projects.

This means those taxing entities (Village, County, Racine Unified and Gateway) still receive the same amount of tax revenue before the district was created, but the increased tax revenue pays for the infrastructure costs over a 20-year period.

Rumors Started Early

In July, Patch reported that Amazon was considering building on land in a proposed business park in Oak Creek.

The developers of that business park, Ryan Business Park, LLC. and Capstone Quadrangle, said they had two "large users" interested in land in the proposed Ryan Business Park.

It wasn't too much later before more details about the business park emerged, as online retail giant Amazon is rumored to want to build a a 2.5 million-sq. ft. warehouse and distribution facility that would bring more than 1,000 jobs to Oak Creek, as reported by the Milwaukee Biz Times on July 10. The name of the new business park would be the Ryan Business Park.

According to the report, Amazon would build on approximately 80 acres and construction would hopefully be done by 2020. The Milwaukee Business Journal says the site for the potential Oak Creek Amazon Fulfillment Center is larger than the one currently in operation in Kenosha.

In a Daily Reporter article published July 9, officials said the Ryan Business Park would be built on 85 acres of land next to a Canadian National railroad line south of W. Ryan Road. Doug Seymour, Oak Creek director of community development, told the Daily Reporter that work on the business park would hopefully begin by fall and have companies moving in by 2020.

According to the article, Oak Creek's OakView Business Park is nearly full, and Mayor Dan Bukiewicz said officials wanted to be ready with land once Foxconn's plant opens.

In early November, news came that a developer purchased 75 acres in Oak Creek for a development that will eventually house a four-story Amazon distribution center.

According to a Milwaukee Business Journal report, the 75-acre section of land near I-94 along Ryan Road was sold to an affiliate of Hillwood Development Co., LLC for $9.8 million.
"...a formal announcement of Amazon's plans in Oak Creek isn't expected until everything is final. However, Hillwood spending nearly $9.8 million to buy the project site indicates the e-commerce center development is moving forward," the Business Journal is reporting.

Patch Graphic via Google Earth Image