Amazon’s air cargo operation is moving from Tampa International to Lakeland Linder International Airport. The city of Lakeland said that the 12-month construction for the Amazon facilities — which would be the company’s largest in the Southeast — is expected to start on July 3.
The lease — which Lakeland’s city commission is expected to review today — calls for Amazon to initially lease 47 acres of a 110-acre parcel of the airport and says that the company would be able to expand from that sit into the nearby 62 acres within five years.
According to the TBBJ, the lease value would fall just under $1 million a year for the first five years, and then increase to over $1 million for the next five.
A Twitter message by the city of Lakeland says that Amazon Planes could be in their skies by July of next year. An estimated 800-1,000 jobs could, including 75 high-paying ones with an average wage of at least $47,000, could be created.
A spokesperson for Tampa International told TBBJ that the move makes sense for all parties since the airport’s desire for a new airside for passenger service means less space for Amazon plane staging.
Project Sythia, item VI-C-4, outlines an Amazon cargo handling facility at Lakeland Linder International Airport. This would be an up to 50 year lease and Amazon planes could be in the air in July 2020. #LKLD
— City of Lakeland (@lakelandgov) May 17, 2019
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This article appears in May 16-23, 2019.