“Some people are really excited we will have an opportunity to bring a business in that’s going to increase our tax base and also bring other businesses in,” said Love. “Some people are really nervous about losing our small town and the impact it will have on that.”
The plant will employ nearly 600 people and feature some 300 vans that will come and go each day at the site between 20th and 21st Avenues, close to the intersection of Main Street and Interstate 35-E. Reaction to the news online included many voicing concerns about the traffic and noise impacts.
“These are all questions that we asked going into it,” said Love. “We’ve been talking about this for months. We’ve done traffic studies, (Amazon) has done noise studies for us as well, and we’re going to continue to research some of those things.”
Meanwhile, nearby business owners are pleased with the prospect of more customers coming by their stores.
“Increased traffic? Who’s going to complain about increased traffic?” asked Jeremy Kostrzewski, owner of JP Liquor on 20th Avenue. He expanded from just his Lino Lakes location to the Centerville store in 2020.
“That was the intention behind (buying the second location),” he said. “I knew the area was growing, and you know, it’s just a bonus that vacant piece of land would (bring) that many people.”
Mayor Love said it’s his hope that a big name like Amazon will show other retail and food service companies that Centerville is a place to locate.
“This brings us that opportunity, this adds traffic counts, this adds the name, the recognition to the global community,” he said.
