The always-smiling Amazon logo will see a significant uptick in visibility throughout the southwest metro later next year.

The Chaska City Council continues to move forward with a new industrial park — Big Woods Business Park — on the western edge of the city, and the first major project will be a 218,000-square-foot Amazon distribution center.

The business park property, much of which is currently used for agricultural purposes, is bounded by Highway 212 to the east and is north of Big Woods Boulevard and east of Jonathan Carver Parkway. The land runs up to Dahlgren Township’s border.

At its June 15 meeting, the Council unanimously approved the Amazon building’s preliminary site and building plan, preliminary plat, a required rezoning request and a comprehensive plan amendment. (The Met Council will need to approve the comprehensive plan change before the project can proceed.)

Mayor Taylor Hubbard and council members expressed excitement that the project is a step closer to reality.

“With anything new, there’s always a bit of hesitation, but it’s also very exciting,” Hubbard said. “Exciting for the new jobs, and exciting for Chaska that you chose here to be your next home. So, very exciting all around.”

According to Jake Kurth, development manager for the business park developer Scannell Properties, the distribution center is expected to be constructed and in operation by the end of 2027.

Jason Vangalis, head of central U.S. expansion and economic development policy for Amazon, told the council that the new distribution center will create about 300 permanent “under the roof” jobs, likely starting at $20 to $21 per hour and ranging up to $30 per hour.

He added that about 450 delivery driver jobs will be created by contracting with small businesses — Amazon calls them Delivery Service Providers (DSPs) — that will deliver products to the final customers.

“There’ll be multiple DSPs that work out of this facility,” he reported. “DSPs typically range from 40 to 100 drivers.”

The Chaska facility will feature twice as much parking as is required by city rules — 1,359 total spots. Employee parking will take up 376 spots, and 983 spots will be designated for delivery vans.

“They are proposing a pretty hefty parking plan,” said Liz Hanson, Chaska city planner.  “But given the operation of accommodating both employees and parking delivery vans on site, they do need a little bit more parking than your average user.”

Vangalis told the council that the new distribution center is considered a “last mile” facility by Amazon. No products will be stored in the building. Pre-sorted orders will simply arrive at the center by semi-truck and then transferred to the appropriate delivery vans.

“This facility won’t carry product longer than 10 hours at a time,” he noted.

Vangalis said the distribution center will operate 24/7. The majority of employees will be on site from 1 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. The large semis will most often arrive late in the evening or early in the morning.

“The biggest shift will happen overnight,” Hanson said. “So off-peak hours — usually when people are sleeping.”

Delivery van drivers are expected to arrive between 9 and 11 a.m. each day to pick up their vehicle and begin their routes. Each route generally takes about nine hours to complete, so drivers will return to the center and then head home between 8 and 10 p.m.

Vangalis added that he expects most of the delivery vans operating from the Amazon center will be electric vehicles.

“So, there is no idling when those vehicles are on,” he said. “And, obviously, they’re quieter as well.”

Community concerns

Council member Jon Grau said nearby residents have expressed concerns about traffic the Amazon facility will generate each day. Grau himself lives near the business park site.

Vangalis indicated that they’re estimating the business will generate about 3,000 daily trips. Much of the traffic leaving and returning to the distribution center will travel along Big Woods Boulevard and Highway 212. Only deliveries to area residents will require access to local streets.

Grau noted that Big Woods Boulevard and Jonathan Carver Parkway will both see significant upgrades — including several roundabouts — to better accommodate the expected increase in traffic. In addition, a bicycle lane is proposed to improve safety along those roads.

Council members also have been concerned about maintaining the visual appeal of the area, requesting that the developer provide vegetation and berms to block the view of the industrial building from Big Woods Boulevard and Jonathan Carver Parkway.

Scannell Properties produced several computer-generated videos to demonstrate the views along those roadways after five and 20 years of vegetation and tree growth.

Council member McKayla Hatfield applauded the video presentation.

“I appreciate the work that was done to really give us insight into what it will look like from roads,” she said. “I think that really helped a lot.”

A 30-acre green belt that includes connecting trails is also part of the overall plans.

“The purpose of the green belt is to establish an edge around the city, to the best extent possible, to physically and visually separate Chaska from adjacent communities,” Hanson explained. “The purpose of it also includes protection of the rural character mainly at key community entrances.”

Speedier deliveries?

Vangalis noted that having a distribution center in the southwest metro will likely benefit Amazon customers in the immediate area.

“Having a facility like this in your backyard generally expedites delivery at a much faster rate,” he said. “We typically start seeing deliveries in 24 hours or less. You’ll likely see expanded same-day delivery service as well.”

Staying connected

Vangalis said he will personally remain the key contact for the city as construction begins and the center opens.

“Our goal is always to be a good neighbor,” he said. “There are growing pains with any site when it launches, and we want to be responsive to that. I’ll be a key resource for all of you as you hear back from constituents … if there are any challenges.”

Big Woods Business Park

For more than 20 years, the city’s comprehensive plan has earmarked the southwest part of Chaska for a future industrial park, according to City Administrator Matt Podhradsky.

“It took the market to catch up,” he said. “We saw communities to the east of us sort of run out of space for industrial. We’ve reached that point now where we are seeing a lot more demand here.”

The city annexed two parcels of land from Dahlgren Township to round out the property needed for the new business park.

Big Woods Business Park sits on 338 acres and is split into north and south sections. Apart from the 218,000-square-foot Amazon center, six additional buildings totaling 496,700 square feet are planned for the northern part of the park. About 55,000 square feet of commercial building space is projected on the northern property as well, along with one small parcel set aside for a future water tower.

Scannell is proposing seven buildings on the southern portion of the business park, totaling about 1,200,000 square feet of space.

No end users have yet been identified for the remaining buildings that are planned.