The City of Port St. Lucie is Celebrating Two Exciting Announcements!
By Sarah Prohaska, Communications Director for the City of Port St. Lucie
The City of Port St. Lucie is celebrating two exciting recent announcements regarding economic development and the creation of new jobs in our City.
If you’ve been wondering what is happening near the Interstate 95 interchange on Midway Road, City leaders are happy to let you know that this area will be the new home for Amazon’s first fulfillment center in St. Lucie County. On August 5, Amazon announced the company will be opening this center and creating more than 500 full-time jobs in the city of Port St. Lucie. Amazon will operate a traditional non-sortable fulfillment center in a 1.1-million-square-foot building to be constructed on 110 acres at Midway Business Park on West Midway Road near the Interstate 95 ramps. Site clearing has begun and construction is projected to be complete by late summer or early fall of 2022.
Employees in the retailer’s non-sortable centers pick, pack, and ship bulky or larger-sized customer items, such as sports equipment, patio furniture, fishing rods, pet food, kayaks, bicycles, and larger household goods. Distribution to individual homes will not be made directly from the center, which is considered a “first-mile” facility.
Earlier this year in Port St. Lucie, FedEx Ground began construction of a regional sortation center and has begun hiring for the first of what is anticipated to be 450 full- and part-time positions; and Cheney Brothers announced it was bringing a new distribution center and 380 jobs to the city.
Nationwide, Amazon offers a starting wage of starting at $15 per hour and provide comprehensive benefits starting day one on the job. The company also offers an innovative Career Choice program which pays 95% of tuition and fees (up to a yearly maximum) towards a certificate or diploma in qualified fields of study, leading to in-demand jobs.
The Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County (EDC) assisted with the site selection, end-user due diligence, expedited site plan review and master site plan approval in 91 days. Local commercial real estate broker Jeff Chamberlin with SLC Commercial represented the property owner in the sale of the property. Amazon is not receiving any financial, tax or job performance incentives.
Also in August, Governor Ron DeSantis announced $3.5 million is being awarded to the City of Port St. Lucie through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund for infrastructure improvements at the Tradition Commerce Park within our Southern Grove Jobs Corridor. These funds will create 1,800 jobs and can indirectly create another 4,000 jobs with employment opportunities in information technology, logistics and distribution, and manufacturing.
The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund is an economic development program designed to promote public infrastructure and workforce training across the state. Proposals are reviewed by DEO and EFI and chosen by the Governor to meet the demands for workforce training or infrastructure needs in communities around the state.