The Garner Economic Development Corporation (GEDC) recently was awarded a 2018 Space Award from the Triangle Business Journal in the category of Economic Development-Expansion for the Amazon project now under construction on Jones Sausage Road.
The Space Awards recognize the Triangle market’s top commercial real-estate deals and developments. Winners were honored at an event at Prestonwood Country Club on Jan. 31.
“The GEDC is honored to receive this award,” GEDC Board Chair Bruce Andrews said. “The GEDC has worked for nearly a decade to bring a transformational project to Garner. This award is a testament to the hard work that so many people have put in to redevelop the former ConAgra property.”
The 2.6 million-square-foot Amazon distribution center will bring an estimated 1,500 new jobs, $200 million in new investment and $45 million in annual payroll to Garner. Construction on the center is expected to be completed this fall.
Referring to the Amazon announcement last August, the Triangle Business Journal wrote, “After a tragic moment in Garner’s history, a major site in the town finally received positive news in 2018.”
In June 2009, four people were killed in an explosion at the ConAgra plant, which later was shuttered permanently. ConAgra donated the property to the Town, and the GEDC was formed to redevelop the site, which was renamed the Garner Technology Center. The GEDC aggressively marketed the site for redevelopment.
Amazon’s investment in the Garner distribution center will be approximately four times the amount of peak investment by ConAgra at the site, and the number of employees at the distribution center will be several hundred more than peak employment at the ConAgra plant.
-Town of Garner
