Amazon Expands With New Bessemer City Facility

Kara Fohner Gaston Gazette USA TODAY NETWORK

Amazon announced that they are opening a delivery facility in Bessemer City, a first for Gaston County.

The new 180,000-square-foot facility will bring 150 full-time jobs to the county, paying at least $15 an hour, said Khim Aday, a company spokesperson.

The company purchased around 65 acres last Sept. 17 on Southridge Parkway, east of downtown Bessemer City, for the facility, spending more than $3.2 million, according to property records. The property is part of South Ridge Business Park, and the new facility will stand across from Dole Foods, said Joshua Ross, director of administration for Bessemer City.

Ross said in an interview that Bessemer City has been planning for this type of growth for years.

“This is definitely going to have a very positive economic impact,” he said. “It’s bringing jobs, investment, more activity to our already thriving business park, and it actually is taking place at the same time as a lot of other projects, so it really shows that Bessemer City is a prime place for development.”

While the Bessemer City site will be the only one in Gaston County, there are two Amazon facilities just across the county line in Mecklenburg County.

An 855,000-square-foot fulfillment center opened in September 2019 at the southeastern corner of Interstates 85 and 485, west of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. Several years prior to the establishment of that facility, Amazon opened a distribution center on Wilkinson Boulevard in west Charlotte.

Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at 704-350-5716 or at kfohner@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing here.