Amazon will invest nearly $30 million to open a 362,000-square-foot “sortation center” in Mobile, Alabama. The facility will be designed to accelerate deliveries of products.

The Amazon center in west Mobile off Interstate 10 will ultimately employ more than 360 part-time employees, though that number could rise by 1,000 in busy periods. The site is expected to open later this year.

“There are a lot of contributing factors that go into our thought process on where to place a new customer fulfillment or sortation center. Most importantly, we want to make sure our facilities are placed as close to the customer as possible to ensure we can offer a great Prime service and fast shipping speeds to customers,” said Ashley Robinson, Strategic Communications Manager for Amazon.

“We also look at the workforce and we’ve found great talent in abundance in Mobile County,” she added.

The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce teamed with the Alabama Department of Commerce, Mobile County Commission and the City of Mobile to work on this project since early 2017. The center is a partnership between Amazon and Johnson Development Associates.

“This will be the first Alabama hub for Amazon’s vast distribution network, and we will work with the Internet retailer and our allies in Mobile to develop a partnership that can lead to other opportunities over time,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce.

“Having a world-class company like Amazon making a significant investment in Alabama is always a positive development,” he added.