SEAFORD, Del. - Amazon's plans to come to the Delmarva Peninsula are officially in the works. The city and developer Gillis Gilkerson have brokered a lease with the big five corporation.
In May Amazon's distribution facility will occupy 104,000 square-feet and 12 acres at 1700 Dulany Street.
Robin Boyd says Studio Nine 21's daily Amazon packages already arrive quickly. She's most excited about the job opportunities. "My niece in fact, she was working for Amazon, but she was riding to Middletown to go to work everyday, so for something like Amazon to come here to Seaford, we think is really really great," Boyd says. "We started sharing everything on Facebook and telling everyone that Amazon was coming to town." The distribution facility is expected to create hundreds of full and part time jobs starting at $15 an hour, which the city and the developer say will boost the local economy in Seaford and in turn the regional economy on Delmarva. "This was a DuPont facility, so it was all tractor trailers coming in hauling nylon," says Mayor David Genshaw. "Now it will be a little bit of a different structure. Tractor trailers will come in, but it will probably go out in much smaller vehicles." Genshaw says Seaford still feels the economic benefits from when DuPont started making nylon in the late 1930's. He's hoping Amazon will give Seaford another boost. "Typically once a name brand company moves to your town, others start to follow. It tends to build that momentum, so we're excited about what the future holds for Seaford," Genshaw says. Jay Mood of Seaford says the big five corporation could help small Seaford businesses recover from the pandemic. "The way technology is going, everybody always goes to their phone or computer to buy stuff," Mood says. "It's a shame for the smaller businesses, but I think a lot of the ancillary stuff will be supported, like restaurants, hotels car repairs and stuff like that." Principal Brad Gillis of NAI Coastal says there is still work to be done to re-purpose the former DuPont building, like paving the field outside into parking spaces. "423 vans, over 150 employee parking spaces and also there's a structure that's going to be built, a 20,000 square foot structure, a lean-to on the side of the building for the deliveries," Gillis says. One Way Insurance Group owner Gertha Jean says Seaford is a great location for Amazon, but acknowledges that it could bring more traffic to the area. "Of course, I think it's going to be with more traffic in the area and I think that's something that we will have to consider and maybe there has to be some changes made, but I think overall the opportunity is really great," Jean says. Construction will take place this spring and summer, but there is no date yet for when those hundreds of jobs will be available. Genshaw says keep checking Amazon's website to be ready for the job opportunities to open up.
