New Amazon Delivery Station Comes to Garner, NC

Garner, NC—Amazon and the Town of Garner have announced the opening of a new delivery station in Garner. The new 165,000 SF facility will create hundreds of new jobs.

Amazon Logistics has signed various leases in an effort to open two new delivery stations in the Triangle. The new stations will power Amazon’s last-mile delivery capabilities to speed up deliveries for customers in the Triangle. Each delivery station will create hundreds of full-time jobs, starting at $15 per hour and offering a variety of benefits from day one. We expect these new sites to open in 2021.

 The new delivery stations will be located in Garner and Raleigh. Addresses are as follows:

·       1201 N Greenfield Parkway, Garner, NC

·       4524 New Bern Ave., Raleigh, NC

About Amazon Delivery Stations:

Delivery stations power the last mile of Amazon’s order fulfillment process. Packages are transported to delivery stations from Amazon fulfillment and sortation centers, and then loaded into vehicles for delivery to customers. There are currently three Amazon delivery stations in operation in the Triangle and eight in the state of North Carolina. Amazon has more than 250 delivery stations in the US.

 Delivery stations also offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to build their own business delivering Amazon packages, as well as independent contractors the flexibility to be their own boss and create their own schedule delivering for Amazon Flex. To learn more, visit www.logistics.amazon.com and https://flex.amazon.com/.

Each of Amazon’s new delivery stations, including these new sites, are now designed to meet the needs of our electric delivery vehicles. Ranging from the physical layout to the electrical design, we are optimizing these spaces to offer flexibility and scale as we move closer toward putting 10,000 electric delivery vehicles on the road in 2022.

 Delivery station images can be found here.

 Statements:

“We are excited to continue to invest in the state of North Carolina with two new delivery stations that will provide efficient delivery for customers, and create hundreds of job opportunities for the talented Triangle workforce. These new delivery stations represent Amazon’s unwavering commitment to safety, technological innovations and skilled teams who are obsessed with delivering for our customers.” – Ashley Lansdale, Amazon Spokesperson

 "We are very pleased to hear that Amazon is expanding in Garner. They have already created 3,000 new jobs at the company's fulfillment center on Jones Sausage Road. This new facility will create hundreds of additional job opportunities – and that's great news for Garner." – Garner Mayor Ken Marshburn

 "Amazon's decision to locate a second facility in Garner shows how the community's strategic location in the Triangle region is perfect for businesses to locate.” – Joe Stallings, Garner Economic Development Director.

 “Amazon’s announcement is yet another example of the diverse business community finding success in the region. It is my pleasure to congratulate Amazon on this milestone and expansion. The investment will create hundreds of new full time opportunities for Amazon employees adding to our City’s pandemic recovery efforts.” – Raleigh Mayor MaryAnn Baldwin

 “We are excited to celebrate these new jobs and investments in Wake County. It is great to see Amazon’s continued investment in Wake County through these delivery stations in east Raleigh and Garner.” – Matt Calabria, Chair, Wake County Board of Commission

 For more information regarding economic development in the Town of Garner, contact Joe Stallings at jstallings@garnernc.gov.

Garner Startup Pivots to Face Mask Production

A Garner-based startup company, Sanctuary Systems, is doing its part to help protect local employees against COVID-19.

Sanctuary Systems recently has pivoted its non-woven textiles company to produce face masks for companies in the Triangle area. The startup originally was spun out of North Carolina State University and still keeps its close ties with the NCSU Nonwoven Institute.

“This was a great way for us to use our decades of non-woven experience to help keep employees safe,” said Stephen Sharp, the company’s director of operations.

The company is able to produce 3,500 to 3,600 masks per hour on its one machine. It plans to add more machines to keep up with demand.

“Continued demand will come from a change in protocol in industries that did not use PPE in the past but will use it in the future—industries such as nursing homes, law enforcement and dental offices,” Sharp said.

“While face masks are not our primary product, we see them as becoming a regular part of someone’s attire and a common courtesy, as is seen in many other cultures,” Sharp added.

You won’t find Sanctuary Systems’ masks in stores. Currently, the company is only selling its masks directly to other businesses.

“Seeing companies like Sanctuary step up and pivot to manufacturing a new product so quickly is inspiring,” Garner Economic Development Director Joe Stallings said. “This company is not only adding new equipment and jobs, they are helping to keep our community and the people who work in it safe.”

For more information about economic development matters in the Town of Garner, please contact Mr. Stallings at 919.773.4431.

Courtesy Town of Garner

Class A Office Space Coming to Garner

Garner is about to make a big splash in the Triangle’s Class A office space market.  

The Town Council on Monday unanimously approved a project that will bring 300,000 square feet of Class A professional office space—with some limited retail and restaurant space—to an approximately 22-acre site at the southwest corner of East Garner and Jones Sausage roads. When the project’s three buildings—each 100,000 square feet—are completed, it will be the largest office park project in Garner’s history.  

Garner-based Direct Distributors, Inc., and the Trustwell Property Group out of Raleigh are teaming up on the project, which has been named the Eastern Wake Innovation Park.  

“Direct Distributors has been proud to call Garner home for decades, and we are firm believers in a very bright future for the town,” said Erik Keener, vice president of Direct Distributors. “Eastern Wake Innovation Park is a big step towards that future, and we are delighted to have a great partner on the project in Trustwell Property Group. We look forward to seeing these buildings go up and welcome the new jobs and businesses that will come as a result of this beautiful new development.”  

The project’s site location is nearly adjacent to White Oak Crossing shopping center off of U.S. 70 and about a mile from the I-40/Jones Sausage Road interchange. 

“On behalf of our investment team, we at Trustwell Property Group are thankful for the opportunity to develop such a dynamic project on this amazingly well-connected site in Garner," Trustwell’s Jon Keener said. “Just 10 minutes from downtown Raleigh, this exceptional location is more than ready for a true Class A office space to bring employment closer to where people in the Triangle really want to live, work and play.” 

Garner officials also noted the project’s great location. In addition, they see the office park serving as an attractive gateway to Garner’s historic downtown business district, which is undergoing a major revitalization that has included a thriving café and coffee roaster, a recently opened restaurant and bar, several local creative class businesses and a new recreation center that will open in the coming months.  

“We see this location as particularly enticing to tenants,” Mayor Ken Marshburn said. “It offers convenient access from I-40 and U.S. 70, and it’s near White Oak and our historic downtown, which is an emerging hub for new businesses and for a variety of entertainment and recreation opportunities.”  

Garner Economic Development Director Joe Stallings expects the project to enhance Garner’s profile in the region. “It will open up very promising opportunities for the recruitment of new businesses and the expansion of existing ones in Garner. It’s something Garner has never had, and it will change the way economic development prospects view us.”   

The office park’s developers will add turn lanes on East Garner and Jones Sausage roads at intersections with the driveway entrances to the project. They also agreed to provide right of way for the future realignment of Jones Sausage Road from East Garner Road out to U.S. 70.   

For more information about economic development opportunities in Garner, please contact Economic Development Joe Stallings at jstallings@garnernc.gov or at 919.773.4431. 

Courtesy the Town of Garner

Matthew Coppedge to lead the Garner Chamber as President & CEO

The Garner Chamber of Commerce will be under new strategic leadership very soon. After an in-depth national search by a six-person Search Committee and unanimous Board approval, Matthew Coppedge takes the President & CEO reins starting February 24th.

"The Chamber set out to find an exceptional individual who could take an already thriving Chamber and move it to the next level. Matthew is a highly skilled marketer with extensive management, community and economic development experience. His passion for development, for Garner and the entire region, aligned well with our next-level vision at the Chamber," stated Board Chair, Melissa Oliver.

Matthew is a native North Carolinian with strong ties throughout the Triangle and eastern North Carolina. He brings extensive marketing, nonprofit management, and economic development experience to the Garner Chamber, as well as experience in the private sector and hands-on savvy as an entrepreneur. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned his MBA from North Carolina Central University.

He devoted 12 years of his career to Downtown Durham, Inc - first as Director of Marketing and then his innovation and management skills earned him the role of Chief Operating Officer. For over a decade, Matthew was an integral part of the team that focused on Downtown Durham's revitalization.  His vision, creative initiatives, leadership ability and partnerships with startups, retail & office tenants, arts & cultural communities, non-profits, elected officials and the public sector helped transform downtown Durham. 

His marketing initiatives while in Durham generated national and international press including features in Tech Crunch, Fast Company & The New York Times and he has been a guest columnist & contributor for several publications. He was awarded for his creativity for The Smoffice, the World's Smallest Office space competition, which won a global award as "The Most Unconventional Chamber Project in the World" by the World Chambers Congress.

Matthew shared, " I'm honored and thrilled to lead the chamber into the future; the opportunities available to the Garner area are enormous. Garner is the kind of town that a difference can be made, where economic development and community development partner for results."

In addition to being active professionally, Matthew served on the Carolina Theatre Board of Trustees, SmART Grant Initiative Steering Committee, and Durham Cultural Advisory Board, among others. When not transforming and serving communities, he runs a popular Instagram account (Commandments of Style) focused on men's style with over 45,000 followers and has partnered with global brands including Brooks Brothers, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tallia Orange, Untuckit, Target and Samuelsohn. Personally, he and his fiancé, Tara, live in the Triangle and are tying the knot on the North Carolina coast in the Fall of 2020. 

Oliver finished, " Our Chamber is coming to the end of an era after 14 wonderful years under Neal Padgett's leadership. Matthew is a driven individual with energy, knowledge, and presence. We're ready as a Board, a Chamber, and a community of keen business owners to get to work on the next chapter."

The Garner Chamber will host their annual Reverse Raffle & Taste of the Town Friday March 6th from 5:30 - 9:00 PM and invite members and the community to welcome Matthew and celebrate this new start together. Tickets available from Board members or by calling the Chamber Office at 919-772-6440.

Release via Garner Chamber of Commerce