1,000 Jobs Possible With Amazon.com South County Interest

Amazon.com, through an affiliate entity, reportedly is considering the South Shore Corporate Park as the place to establish a wholesale trade fulfillment center operation in Florida.

"This project has the potential of creating 375 new higher-wage quality jobs with average wages of $47,581, which is at least 115 percent of the state’s private sector average wage," according to a Hillsborough County News report released June 13.

According to the South Shore Corporate Park Web site, the park "is a 1,000-acred, mixed-use project emphasizing the development of a uniquely compatible community of light industrial, residential and industral uses."

Located near State Road 674, the park is adjacent to Interstate 75 and the south county communities of Riverview, Ruskin, Apollo Beach and Sun City Center.

The proposed fulfillment center, according to county officials, is expected to generate more than 1,000 permanent jobs, including the 375 higher-wage jobs expected to draw average salaries of $47,581.

The center also would create additional seasonal temporary employment opportunities and generate up to $200 million in capital investment, including a one- million square-foot, state- of the-art facility, according to the county news report.

According to a June 13 post at the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Amazon has pledged to spend more than $300 million on warehouses in Florida through 2016, creating more than 3,000 jobs. But with a Florida foothold, the post continues, Amazon would be required to charge its Florida-based customers the state's sales tax on purchases made through the Internet retailer.

Meanwhile, Hillsborough County commissioners at a June 19 meeting are scheduled to consider "a proposal that would approve a State of Florida Qualified Targeted Industry (QTI) job creation incentive for 375 jobs that will meet the higher-wage criteria of at least 115 percent of the state-average wage," according to the Hillsborough County News report.

The report further notes that commissioners will consider at their July 17 meeting an ad-valorem tax exemption for a portion of the project’s county taxes for a seven-year time period.