ASHLAND — Amazon is coming to town.
The Fortune-500 company and the city closed on a real estate transaction Dec. 2, according to county property records.
City council approved a $448,200 purchase agreement for 22.41 acres of vacant property on the northwest corner of Wells Road and U.S. Route 250 in August.
At the time, Ashland Mayor Matt Miller said he couldn’t disclose who planned to buy the property, only providing hints.
“It’s an e-commerce facility that will deal in shipping, sorting and staging packages for daily delivery,” he said, adding the Fortune-500 brand is easily recognizable.
The deal was brokered by Ambrose Services LLC, an Indiana-based company that develops facilities for e-commerce, industrial and logistics companies across the U.S.
Ambrose has built six speculative and build-to-suit facilities across Ohio, with others promised in the Columbus and Cincinnati markets for 2025.
Property records reveal the property sold for $441,520 to “Amazon.com Services LLC” and that the property would be used for “development, use and operation of a last-mile delivery station.”
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller said Amazon’s decision to build an 87,000 square-foot facility in Ashland is significant.
“In many ways their presence takes us one step further in making sure Ashland is on the map,” he said.
Attracting Amazon
Miller said the company has not asked for any tax incentives. That means the tech giant does not need to disclose information such as how many employees it hopes to hire.
“But I can tell you, based on conversations with those involved, it will be a significant number of new jobs that will pay a very competitive wage,” he said.
The mayor has been in contact with representatives related to this deal since March. He attributed landing Amazon to the city’s ownership of land that is “shovel ready.”
“We’re located close to a major interstate highway,” he said. “Once an organization like this determines that we’re in a good location, it’s important we can immediately show a site that won’t take years of preparation. No demolitions, no environmental clean up … and no need to install utilities like water, sewer and others.
“This land is ready to go. All the boxes are already checked.”
The mayor reiterated the land’s price was also competitive, even though it represents the most the city has received per acre in the industrial complex.
An Ambrose Property Group spokesperson said he “can’t provide further details beyond what is publicly available at this time.”
Amazon was not immediately available to comment.
This story will be updated.
