Nov. 16—The Boise City Council will consider a proposal from Amazon to build a new air cargo center at the Boise Airport as part of a ground lease for up to 35 years, with possible endorsement coming Tuesday evening at the council's regular weekly meeting.
If approved, the deal would call for Amazon to rent about 151,000 square feet of property at the airport to construct a roughly 31,000-square-foot air cargo building and make other upgrades to store and distribute the e-commerce giant's goods.
The Seattle-headquartered company — one of the world's most successful private enterprises — also would use the space to load and unload trucks and trailers, store the vehicles and make service repairs to inbound and outbound aircraft, according to the proposal.
Amazon would cover the cost of construction of the center, and would own the building. With planned expansions worked into the agreement, the lease could expand to more than 171,000 square feet of airport property, or nearly 4 acres.
The airport would agree to fund an estimated $22 million in capital improvements, including construction of a new access road, taxiway and ramp. The airport upgrades are expected to be finished by the end of 2023.
The capital additions would not be exclusive to Amazon's use. They also have the potential for Federal Aviation Administration reimbursement funds once other possible future tenants lease adjacent property, Shawna Samuelson, a Boise Airport spokesperson, told the Idaho Statesman.
"This project is being paid through airport capital funds — no taxpayer dollars will be used," Samuelson said in an email.
In return for the airport's investments, Amazon would pay about $60,000 in annual rent, adjusted each year to the Consumer Price Index, in addition to associated landing and ramp fees. The initial lease term would be for 10 years, with renewals set for every five years, lasting as far out as 2059.
An Amazon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Statesman request for comment early Monday evening. An estimate of Amazon's total anticipated annual payment was also unavailable from the airport Monday evening.
" On-airport businesses account for a significant portion of the first tier of economic benefits associated with our airport," Samuelson said. "We are excited to continue to add to this economic footprint — and add jobs in the Treasure Valley."
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean was unavailable for comment Monday evening, according to city spokesperson Justin Corr. The mayor preferred to withhold any possible discussion about the proposal until the item comes before the City Council on Tuesday night, he said.
Amazon has emerged as a major Treasure Valley employer in the past few years and employed more than 3,500 people in Idaho as of last spring. Its 650,000-square-foot Nampa fulfillment center alone employs 2,500 people, according to the company. It has opened several other sorting and delivery stations across the valley.
With the recent additions, Amazon previously projected it would increase statewide employment to more than 4,000 employees in Idaho. It was unclear Monday evening how the proposed air cargo facility might add to that total.
Even so, the more than 4,000 Amazon workers would make the company the eighth-largest employer in the state and fourth-largest in the Treasure Valley, behind St. Luke's Health System, Micron Technology and Saint Alphonsus Health System, according to the Boise Valley Economic Partnership.
Amazon operates more than 250 delivery stations in the United States. Packages go from larger fulfillment and sortation centers to delivery stations before they are delivered to customers.
This story was originally published November 15, 2021 6:27 PM.
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