Amazon planning 200K sq. ft. distribution center in Broomfield

BROOMFIELD — Local developer McWhinney Real Estate Services Inc. plans to build a new 200,000-square-foot delivery center that would be leased to Amazon Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) at McWhinney’s Baseline development in Broomfield.

The project, preliminarily reviewed by Broomfield officials in February, has faced scrutiny from City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission members who questioned impacts on traffic, noise, housing affordability, neighborhood aesthetics and infrastructure. 

Plans submitted by the developers to the city were vague about the eventual tenant of the proposed delivery hub at a nearly 54-acre site between Huron Street, W. 160th Avenue, Interstate 25 and Northwest Parkway. In fact, a representative for the company on hand at last month’s project review to answer questions from Broomfield leaders introduced himself only as “John,” and employee of “the tenant.” It was only when asked directly by Broomfield City Councilwoman Guyleen Castriotta that the representative volunteered that he works for Amazon. 

Amazon and McWhinney did not respond to requests by BizWest for additional information about the project. 

Amazon maintains three fulfillment centers in the Denver metro area, with a 2.4 million-square-foot location in Thornton, a 1 million-square-foot location in Aurora, and a new 123,000-square-foot operation in Loveland’s Centerra development. It also operates a software-development office at 1900 15th St. in Boulder and a 19,000-square-foot distribution center at 3550 Frontier Ave. in Boulder.

The Broomfield delivery center would be what Amazon describes as a “final-mile” facility, which serves the last stop between larger regional distribution centers such as those in Thornton and Aurora and the drivers who deliver packages to end-users. 

The facility will operate 24-hours per day with about 300 workers inside sorting packages and several hundred more drivers cycling through to load trucks and vans. 

“I’m having a hard time with how close residents are to this 24-hour facility,” Councilwoman Sharon Tessier said, referencing homes built as close as 800 feet from the delivery center. “And I’m having a difficult time with whether Broomfield actually needs this. That area needs a break from 24-7 noise and traffic.”

Other Broomfield leaders also questioned whether the city needs hundreds of new jobs that only pay $15 to $18 per hour, particularly given ongoing struggles with housing affordability in the area.

Before ground can break, a final development plan will be drafted and reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission before ultimately going before the city council for approval.

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