Amazon plans $1B, 4.2M sq ft warehouse in Holbrook, Long Island
The largest industrial proposal on Long Island in years, and it hangs on a zoning change and a tax package.
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Amazon is proposing a $1 billion, 4.2 million sq ft logistics complex in Holbrook, Long Island, on 140 acres it would buy from Indianapolis-based Scannell Properties. The deal is not done, and what stands between the proposal and a groundbreaking is the part developers should study: a rezoning and a tax package.
Why it matters
This is a clean case study in how entitlement risk, not land or demand, sets the timeline on large industrial. The site sits near Sunrise Highway and Beacon Drive, east of MacArthur Airport, and is currently zoned commercial. Turning it industrial requires the Town of Islip to act, and Amazon has been explicit that the project does not proceed without tax relief from the Islip Industrial Development Agency.
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For anyone assembling big-box sites in a supply-constrained coastal market, that is the negotiating posture to expect on both sides. Land that is physically ready and demonstrably in demand can still stall on a municipal vote, and the occupier will say so out loud to move that vote.
The numbers
The complex would combine a 3.7 million sq ft sortable fulfillment center with a 450,000 sq ft vehicle pickup storehouse, for 4.2 million sq ft total across 140 acres. Total project cost is put at $1 billion. Amazon would purchase the land from Scannell for an undisclosed price, contingent on approvals. Construction would run 18 to 24 months once cleared.
The facility would operate around the clock and is expected to generate roughly 300 truck trips a day. It would be Amazon’s largest Long Island facility, about 21 times the size of what the company operates there now. Brad Griggs, Amazon’s director of economic development for the Northeast, has said the project will not be built without the tax relief.
What’s next
The Islip zoning change and the industrial development agency’s decision on incentives are the two gates. Traffic volume is the most likely flashpoint at public hearings.
Note the regional split this exposes. While Suffolk County weighs incentives to attract a warehouse operator, New York City is moving the other way, advancing a licensing regime for warehouse operators that we reported on July 8. Within one metro, the entitlement climate for the same asset class now runs in opposite directions, and that gap is where site selection gets decided. More: National →
Quick answers
- Did Amazon plan $1B, 4.2M sq ft warehouse in Holbrook?
- Amazon would buy 140 acres in Holbrook from Scannell Properties for a 4.2M sq ft complex, pending an Islip rezoning and IDA tax breaks.
- Who is developing Holbrook fulfillment center?
- Scannell Properties, according to The Real Deal.
- What are the key numbers for Holbrook fulfillment center?
- Total complex: 4.2M sq ft; Project cost: $1B; Site: 140 acres; Build time: 18 to 24 mo.
On the record
The proposal lands while New York City moves to license and restrict warehouse operators, a regulatory divergence between the five boroughs and Suffolk County we have tracked since July 8.
Our coverage · Read our earlier story
Also reported by
- The Real DealAmazon eyes 4M sf warehouse on Long Island