E-commerce giant Amazon has received its first construction permit for its planned facility on the former Allied Metal site in West Humboldt Park, clearing the way for the company to bolster its last-mile delivery operations within the city of Chicago. The Seattle-based company purchased the 26-acre site at the northwest corner of Division and Kostner in June, paying over $30 million, Crain’s reported at the time.
The permit issued on July 29 from the city lists the estimated cost of construction at $31,000,000 with over $51,000 in fees to the city to break ground. Reports from June indicated that the facility would be completed and opened by late 2022 and could deliver upwards of 500 new jobs — both part- and full-time — to the West Humboldt Park community.
The facility is just one of several major construction projects in the Chicago area that Amazon is taking part in, either as owner-operator or lessee. Another major purchase from the e-commerce goliath includes the old Central Steel & Wire plant at 3000 W. 51st Street, which the company paid $45 million for, the Tribune reported in March.
Additionally, Amazon has fully leased the redevelopment of the former Maywood Park Racetrack, dubbed the Chariot Logistics Center. The racetrack was demolished in 2019 to make way for the three-building, 623,000-square-foot industrial park spanning 55 acres in Melrose Park. The development started as a spec project but later became a spec-to-suit project once Amazon committed to the full scope of the site.
