Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ; AMZN) might be hard-pressed to find alternate locations for a massive fulfillment center in Prince George’s County after community resistance led it to back away from a prospective site at Westphalia Town Center — if it hasn’t already written off the idea entirely.
There are no existing industrial facilities in the county large enough to meet the company’s needs for around 4 million square feet, according to research for the WBJ by commercial real estate data firm CoStar Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), and just a couple potential development sites on the market near Westphalia that the Seattle-based e-commerce and cloud-computing company could look to take through the county’s land entitlement process for development as a distribution facility.
Even if it had other options, the prospect appears to be dead on arrival. Amazon spokeswoman Rachael Lighty expressed the company’s appreciation to local and state officials for their help in exploring Westphalia as an option after news of its decision to back out surfaced Friday. She went on to suggest the company has already decided to move on to other locations outside of Prince George’s.
“Amazon is a dynamic business and we are constantly exploring new locations and weighing a variety of factors when deciding where to develop future sites to best serve our customers,” she said. “As such, we are no longer exploring opportunities for growth in Prince George’s County.”