Amazon warehouse, expected to bring 1,000 jobs to Huntley, remains on schedule

The Amazon warehouse in Huntley is on track to open this summer, according to people involved with the project.

Amazon has been building a 630,000-square-foot receiving center since early last year on Freeman Road near the intersection of Route 47 and Interstate 90.

"Not only does that benefit the village, it benefits the school district, park districts, fire districts; I think it's far-reaching," said Charlie Nordman, the village's director of development services.

So far, the project remains on track to open during the third quarter, according to the timeline presented to the village board last year, Amazon spokeswoman Caitlin Polochak said. Nordman said he expects the building to be open in June or July.

"The focus (of the construction) now is on the interior of the building," Nordman said.

Traffic signal work in the area has been completed, and landscaping has been added, with more to come in the spring.

"It's been a good project," he said. "They moved quickly."

The Amazon project encountered some supply chain issues, which was not unexpected, said Ryan Stoller of Venture One Real Estate, the Rosemont company overseeing the project for Amazon.

"We successfully managed through that," Stoller said.

The new warehouse is expected to create 1,000 jobs and generate $800,000 in property tax revenue.

"We feel well prepared for not only Amazon but additional development in the area of the interchange," Nordman said.

Overall, Huntley officials have not heard any significant pushback from residents on the Amazon project, Nordman said. He said people generally are used to having warehouses in the area on Freeman Road, including a distribution center for Weber Grill next to the Amazon development. Residents are most often concerned about the extra amount of truck traffic the facility will create.

"That's something we believe we strongly addressed through the review process," with mostly minor road improvements by adding traffic signals and some turn lanes on Freeman Road, Nordman said.