Davenport officials confirm Amazon project, bringing company's Iowa facilities to at least seven

Davenport officials confirmed Wednesday that Amazon is building a warehouse in the city's downtown, one of at least seven in construction or operation in Iowa since work began on the company's first facilities in the state in 2019.

City administrators said in a news release that the company plans to hire 1,000 employees, just as it did when it opened the fulfillment center in Bondurant last December. The fulfillment centers are the largest of Amazon's warehouses, where the company stores items that employees pack for individual orders.

In a grant application that Davenport submitted to the Iowa Department of Transportation, city officials estimated that contractors will finish building the warehouse in August 2022.

“We are excited to continue our investment in the state of Iowa," Amazon spokesperson Caitlin Polochak said in a statement Wednesday.

As part of the development, city and state officials said they will spend about $3.9 million to add turn lanes and other "intersection improvements" to roads serving the warehouse. The Iowa Department of Transportation will cover about 60% of the cost, with the city picking up the other 40%.

Wednesday's announcement confirmed what public records already strongly suggested: that Amazon was behind the large-scale project. A grant application that city officials submitted to the Department of Transportation included sketches of the warehouses that looked identical to Amazon's Bondurant fulfillment center. Also, a description of the company in the grant application included passages copied from Amazon.com's annual report.

The news comes a day after Polochak confirmed to the Des Moines Register that Amazon is building a sortation center warehouse in Council Bluffs. Since September 2019, the company has signed leases for seven warehouses in the state, including a sortation center in Bondurant and delivery stations in Ankeny, Grimes and Iowa City.

More:Amazon to open Council Bluffs warehouse, likely to be seventh Iowa location over two years

More:With Amazon expansion, when will same-day delivery reach Iowa?

Marc Wulfraat, president of the logistics firm MWPVL International Inc., which has documented the growth of Amazon's delivery network, told the Register that job board postings show Amazon is building a second delivery station in Grimes. That would bring the company's presence in the state up to at least eight warehouses.

The new Grimes operation would be located at 200 S.E. 37th St., handling larger packages that weigh between 60 and 300 pounds.

Tyler Jett covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett.