Crews break ground at site believed to be Amazon distribution center

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Construction crews broke ground Tuesday, March 10 at a site in south Baton Rouge believed to be the location for a new Amazon distribution center.

While Amazon has not officially confirmed it’s building a warehouse, the developer in charge has built several centers for Amazon.

The East Baton Rouge Planning Commission approved a site plan for the south Baton Rouge distribution center Jan. 22. The plan calls for a 111,918 square foot distribution center off I-10 behind the Bethany Church crosses.

All signs point to the distribution center being an expansion of Amazon in Baton Rouge. The developer, Seefried Industrial Properties, Inc. has built three Amazon centers in the past, along with several other large distribution centers.

A reporter with WAFB reached out to Seefried about the plans. The developer would not comment, citing a non-disclosure agreement with the owner.

WAFB also reached out to East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome’s office. A representative said the development was “exciting” and “a huge economic development for the area.” He would not confirm the buyer was Amazon, only pointing to the projects Seefried has completed in the past.

Originally, it was thought Amazon had plans to develop Cortana Mall. A source told WAFB Amazon plans to build the distribution center in south Baton Rouge and continue moving forward with its plans to develop Cortana Mall into another distribution center.

Stephanie Riegel with the Daily Report told WAFB she believes Amazon would operate a smaller, regional distribution center in south Baton Rouge that would complement a larger, statewide center at Cortana Mall.

More: Plans for Amazon distribution center at old Cortana Mall reportedly moving forward

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