Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. has signed a letter of intent to build a one million square foot fulfillment center in Fall River and Freetown, its first in Massachusetts.
In a letter to municipal officials, Amazon said its center in the 300-acre SouthCoast Life Sciences and Technology Park would create 1,000 permanent jobs and hundreds of temporary and part-time positions. The park straddles the border between Fall River and Freetown.
If the deal is finalized, it would give a much-needed economic boost to the Fall River area. The city, which has struggled with chronically high unemployment, had a jobless rate of 10.5 percent in September.
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Amazon is still negotiating over local tax breaks and plans to seek other development incentives from the state, officials said. Negotiations over the project have been ongoing for nearly two years, ever since the state struck a deal with Amazon over its collection of sales taxes for purchases made by customers in Massachusetts.
Kenneth Fiola Jr., the executive vice president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development, said Amazon was attracted by Fall River’s proximity to Route 24, its blue collar workforce, and the recent installation of electric and sewer infrastructure in the industrial park.
“It would allow hard-working people who have high school degrees to apply for those positions,” he said. “It’s good news not only for Fall River, but the whole region.”
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Fiola said he was optimistic the company would begin construction early in 2015.
“No deal is done until it’s done, but I don’t see anything that stands in the way,” he said.
Dan Adams can be reached at dadams@globe.com. Find him on Twitter at @DanielAdams86.