Construction of the Plainfield Amazon distribution facility in progress

PLAINFIELD – Hundreds of thousands of dollars in permit fees will pour into the city’s coffers as construction of a huge Amazon distribution warehouse project begins.

The city’s building department received a check for US $ 270,000 last week that will pave the way for planning permission in the coming days for a planned 202,044-square-foot “last mile” facility that is being built on 61 acres is to be a former dog racing track at 137 Lathrop Road.

“We’ll probably issue this permit on Monday or Tuesday, but before that a temporary permit will be issued so the crews can mill off the old sidewalk and add fences,” said Richard Martel, construction officer on Thursday. “We expect them to break the ground for construction next week.”

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The city could receive total permit fees of more than $ 400,000 over the expected nine-month construction schedule, officials said.

“The building permit is just for that – the building,” said Martel. “Other permits are submitted for things like the conveyors that are in the warehouse, along with utility and plumbing permits.

The planning department also expects a check for $ 21,000 to be filed prior to obtaining planning permission for the work, zone enforcement official Ryan Brais said.

“We just have to submit a few documents, for example for drainage easements, and when that is done we will issue the permit,” he said.

Brais said Amazon expects to request preliminary occupancy certificates in May, with full approval being requested soon after.

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On Thursday, a number of heavy equipment, including excavators and milling carts, were lined up on the weedy, cracked terrain that once served as the racetrack’s parking lot. First Selectman Kevin Cunningham said crews are scraping brushes and putting up fences in anticipation of the work ahead.

The admitting windfall, like all of these monies, will flow into the city’s general fund, which currently stands at approximately $ 6.3 million.

“That’s about 13% of our annual operating budget, which in an emergency can cover a month and a half of city operations,” he said. “Amazon revenue of $ 500,000 will bring the reserve percentage to 14.5%.”

Cunningham said the city has not received that much revenue from permit fees since the Lowe’s Distribution Center was built years ago.

“The amount we get for approval of funds depends on the volume of the building – the size of the project determines the revenue,” he said. “But you can’t always expect something like that. You can’t plan a budget for such projects. “

In March, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a site plan for the project that paved the way for BL Companies to begin construction on behalf of Exeter Group, the project applicant.

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The former greyhound dog racing park opened in 1976 and quickly became one of the most profitable tracks in the country, attracting players from all over the state and beyond. However, competition from the region’s two Indian-owned casinos in the 1990s proved too much for the park.

The circuit closed in May 2005 and the property was purchased the next year for $ 7.5 million by BVS, a subsidiary of Fairfield-based Starwood Cerruzi. Winstanley Enterprises, a Concord, Massachusetts, investment and development firm that leases multiple office and warehouse space in New England, bought the line from BVS Plainfield Investors LLC in November 2017 for $ 3.37 million.

Original site plans by the Exeter Group show the planned structure, which is surrounded on three sides by a total of 664 employee parking spaces with two entrances from Lathrop Road to the site. Several loading ramps and staging areas line one end of the building with a pair of retention basins pictured on the rear.

Once opened, the warehouse will sort received parcels dropped off by 18-wheelers before shipping them to customers via a third-party fleet trained by Amazon.

Between 300 and 400 drivers are expected to work at the Plainfield site, arriving in waves of 160 vehicles and departing in vans in the morning hours. During a typical 10-hour shift, the drivers deliver within a 45-minute delivery area.

John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965