Amazon distribution center could soon come to Kenosha

KENOSHA (WITI) -- Kenosha officials say Amazon would like to build a $250 million distribution center off of I-94 -- and more information is expected to be released on the project on Monday night, October 7th.

The plan is for a  16-acre development with about 2,500 parking spaces and a massive distribution center that would employ more than 1,000 people.

But first, Kenosha's City Council has to make a decision on the project.

"There was a confidentiality agreement in place. That’s why we couldn’t tell everybody. We knew months ago who it was," Alderman Jesse Downing said.

The Kenosha City Council will vote Monday night on whether it will issue a permit for the development. It will also decide whether it will pitch in $17 million toward the $250 million project.

"That money’s gonna come back to the city. It’s gonna come back to the tax district itself and we think the way the property’s gonna be assessed, that it’s gonna be paid back to the city within 10 years," Downing said.

The distribution center would be in Downing's district -- just off I-94 and the Highway 142 exit.

City officials say the benefits will extend far beyond Kenosha's borders.

"This development helps southeast Wisconsin, certainly Kenosha County, Racine County -- I could see people coming from the south side of Milwaukee to work at the this development," Kenosha Mayor Keith Bosman said.

Amazon plans to hire 1,100 full-time workers, most of whom would make around $30,000 a year.

So why Kenosha? City officials say Amazon wants a central location for its Midwest distribution hub.

"We’re in the middle of Milwaukee and Chicago. It’s a busy corridor along I-94 and it’s really centrally located. You can get to Minnesota, Illinois, you can get to Missouri," Downing said.

Crews have already begun clearing some space on the lot, and officials hope to begin construction soon in order to open the center by next October.