New Amazon facility coming to Fresno. Mega warehouse project underway on west side
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Amazon confirmed it will operate in a mega-warehouse under construction in west Fresno.
- Scannell Westgate Industrial Center is a $100 million warehouse project.
- City Council approved the Westgate in February 2024 on a 5-2 vote.
Amazon will be operating in a mega-warehouse currently under construction on Marks and Nielsen avenues in west Fresno, the company confirmed Wednesday.
The online retail and distribution giant is the first tenant named for the Scannell Westgate Industrial Center, a $100 million warehouse project approved by the Fresno City Council in 2024. Though community members were concerned about the continued industrialization of west Fresno, city leaders focused on the potential job creation and tax revenue touted by the project’s developer, Indiana-based Scannell Properties.
“This project will bring over 800,000 square feet of modern industrial space to our city, creating new jobs and strengthening our local economy,” Mayor Jerry Dyer said on social media after Westgate’s groundbreaking last summer.
It’s not yet clear how many jobs or what type of operation Amazon will bring to Westgate, nor how much of the space Amazon will be using.
Amazon has at least two other warehouse campuses in the city. Its campus in southwest Fresno includes an 855,000-square-foot fulfillment center. Another on Olive and Clovis avenues serves as a “last mile” distribution center, which ships products to their final destinations at customers’ homes. That location replaced a previous campus that was located in southeast Fresno.
What is the Scannell Westgate Industrial Center in west Fresno?
The City Council approved the Westgate industrial center on a 5-2 vote in February 2024 as a project with four warehouse buildings totaling approximately 901,438 square feet. By last year’s groundbreaking, the project had been reduced to three buildings totaling about 833,000 square feet.
Scannell did not respond to a request for comment, but it appears the first of the three buildings is nearing completion.
The project is being built on land that was already zoned for heavy industrial use, but it faced opposition over Scannell’s decision not to agree to use union labor and the potential negative impacts to west Fresno — the most polluted part of town, where residents have long said they need more grocery and retail options.
Some city leaders, including Dyer, saw the project as a job-generator with the potential to attract more investment.
“We unfortunately do have a reputation in Fresno for not being business friendly,” Dyer said during the February 2024 hearing. “I believe this is our opportunity as a city to prove otherwise.”
City Councilman Miguel Arias, whose district includes the project site, voted against the project. Arias said at the time that west Fresno residents asked him to oppose the industrial center. He told The Bee on Wednesday he remains skeptical that an Amazon facility is what the area needs.
“By us allowing another distribution center in that area,” Arias said, “we have further reduced the likelihood of a major retailer — which is what people are demanding.”
