PORT ANGELES — Port of Port Angeles commissioners got their first look at a proposed lease with Amazon for 8 acres near William R. Fairchild International Airport.
They approved a motion Tuesday to vote on it at their next meeting Oct. 22.
Caleb McMahon, the port’s director of economic development, said the online retailer plans to build a 40,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center at 2100 S. Airport Road that will initially employ 100 workers and 50 drivers with a goal of growing to 200 total employees.
“They’ve been very good partners with regards to economic development,” McMahon said.
Amazon will pay $188,850 per year in rent minus $15,000 per year for infrastructure improvements to the property for a total of $174,000 annually. The initial 15-year lease will have an option for 10 five-year extensions, and the rent will escalate annually by 1.5 percent.
The site is now empty and zoned for light industrial and commercial use.
McMahon said there had been a great deal of community interest in the possibility of Amazon having a footprint in Port Angeles, but a non-disclosure statement the port signed prevented it from saying anything about its conversations with the company.
“It was a consideration for even being considered for this project,” McMahon said. “This is a normal process for government entities to go through. If we’re not willing to sign non-disclosure agreements during the due diligence period, they just pass over us to move to the next location.”
Commissioner Connie Beauvais called the Amazon lease a “big deal.”
“This is the first time that it’s being seen by the public and being presented to the commissioners,” Beauvais said. “We want to make sure that we have the time for any public comment to happen.”
A distribution center in Port Angeles would eliminate the need for the dozen or so 18-wheelers that currently deliver Amazon goods daily from Bremerton to Clallam County, McMahon said.
“Some people are not fans of Amazon,” Commissioner Colleen McAleer said. “But whether the distribution center is located in Port Angeles or Bremerton, people are going to order off Amazon, so I do believe there’s a reduction in carbon emissions.”
Conversations with Amazon began around August 2022, McMahon said, when the company reached out to the port.
The wetland and State Environmental Policy Act permits for the site were submitted by CESO Engineering, not Amazon. The office of the city’s Manager of Community and Economic Development approved the wetland permit and issued a determination of mitigated non-significance on Aug. 20.
No member of the public appealed either of those decisions.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners listened to revenue and expense assumptions for the 2025 budget from port departments.
A special commission meeting on the 2025 budget and tax levy will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Oct. 29 at the port’s offices, 338 W. First St.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
