Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat; Add Danbury to Growing List of Amazon Facilities in Connecticut

Connecticut may have lost the war, but it has amassed a string of victories in battle – the battle to increase Amazon’s presence in the state, and in doing so grow the number of jobs here as the company continues to expand its footprint.

The latest good news came last week with the announcement that Amazon would be utilizing a recently vacated warehouse in Danbury, bringing an estimated 400 jobs to the city, and likely pushing the number of Amazon jobs in Connecticut closer to 5,000.

“Amazon has more than 4,500 full-time employees in Connecticut and we continue to hire, an Amazon spokesperson told CT by the Numbers. “Hiring details for our Stratford and Danbury distribution centers will be available closer to launch.”

During Amazon’s initial search for a HQ2 host that in 2017, New Haven, in conjunction with Bridgeport, submitted a proposal to host the new Amazon.com Inc. headquarters. In addition, major statewide officials formally proposed a Hartford–Stamford joint offer. Less noticed at the time was a proposal pitched by the City of Danbury.

At the time, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said “We felt that with such a high-tech and global company, the only way we could stand out of the fray was to do something truly unique and impactful.  We are going to go straight to the top of Amazon with our message so that they know who Danbury is. We have a lot to offer and this video will certainly grab their attention.”

Apparently, Amazon remembered.

In January 2018, Amazon released a list of 20 finalist cities out of the 238 that had submitted proposals, none of which were in Connecticut. Ultimately, Queens, N.Y. and Arlington, VA were selected for HQ2.  Amazon planned to invest more than $5 billion in the project, promising each city 25,000 full-time jobs with an average salary exceeding $150,000 a year, according to the announcement.

Months later, when New York City removed itself from consideration due largely to local politics, Connecticut gave it another shot. 

Recently elected Governor Ned Lamont “mobilized our new Partnership to Advance the Connecticut of Tomorrow – and more specifically, chairs Indra Nooyi and Jim Smith, to construct a path forward,” Lamont tweeted in February 2019. Again, Connecticut was rebuffed, but apparently the local market has retained a place on the Amazon radar screen.

In a video pitch to Amazon in 2017, Mayor Boughton touted the “Danbury difference,” noted the Hat City had been named the best place to do business in the State of Connecticut, was the home of major corporate headquarters, among the nation’s most diverse cities.

At the start of this year, Amazon moved forward with plans to open facilities in Stratford, announced in November 2019 - to be used for distribution of e-commerce products, occupying one 78,000 and one 117,000 square feet of warehouse and office space.

 A year ago, Amazon begin to hire about 1,500 people to work in a newly opening facility in North Haven.  Gov. Lamont toured the newly built 855,000 square foot warehouse facility in June, commenting "Hey Amazon, welcome to North Haven and keep expanding in Connecticut.  We love having you here."

Among the Amazon facilities in Connecticut:  a Windsor Fulfillment Center opened in 2016, Wallingford Sorting Center opened in 2017, along with a Delivery Station in Bristol opened in 2018 and a air hub facility at Bradley Airport, opened in 2018.

“Amazon’s relationship with Connecticut continues to grow as the company is seeing the value of our state as an emerging hub of its northeast operations,” Governor Lamont said last June. “Our state meets the needs of an innovative, 21st century company like Amazon – with an in-demand talent pool of workers and some of the nation’s top educational institutions. 

“Amazon is proud to call Connecticut home and to serve customers throughout the state and the northeast U.S.,” Richard Dyce, director of operations for Amazon’s North Haven fulfillment center, said last year. “When choosing where to expand our operations, we look at two main factors – an engaged workforce and great local support – and we have found both here in North Haven and Connecticut.

This fall, Amazon will be repurposing a former Scholastic Corporation 147,000-square-foot warehouse on Old Sherman Turnpike in Danbury into a distribution facility. Plans are for it to be a so-called last mile distribution center, focused on final delivery of packages to Amazon customers.

"We are so excited to bring Amazon here to the City of Danbury," Boughton said. "We anticipate at least 400 new jobs and several opportunities for Danbury residents. This is a huge economic opportunity for the city and will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue."

Amazon’s Connecticut employee count also includes nine Whole Foods locations in the state, in Glastonbury, Danbury, Milford, Fairfield, Westport, Darien, Greenwich, West Hartford. A new location is due to open in Avon this summer.