Former Sears warehouse will become Amazon’s first sorting facility in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Work is underway to transform an old Sears warehouse on the corner of the Old Seward Highway and Dowling Road into Alaska’s first Amazon sorting facility.

In an emailed response to an inquiry, the company described the building as a “last mile facility (which) will enhance our delivery network in Anchorage and surrounding areas.”

“This delivery station will play a pivotal role in Amazon’s logistics network, serving as the last stop before packages arrive at customer’s doorsteps,” an Amazon spokesperson said.

The company didn’t respond to questions about how many jobs the new facility might provide or the rate of pay, but Jenna Wright, interim CEO of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, said the number of new parking spaces going in at the site offers some clues.

“We are excited any time new jobs come into Anchorage and that’s exactly what the new Amazon sorting facility is going to bring,” Wright said. “We don’t know exactly how many jobs will be forthcoming, but we have seen that they are putting in 125 parking spaces for employees, so we can estimate that it might be around 100 new jobs that will be added to our economy.”

As for the pay, Wright said it’s likely comparable to similar work that is done in Anchorage.

“If we drill down specifically into the warehousing and storage industry, we are seeing average annual wages which are nearly $60,000, which is a little bit lower than Anchorage’s average annual wage of $67,000 but it’s still a great wage,” Wright said.

Amazon said there is no specific date when the warehouse will open but anticipates the site will be in operation in 2024.

Copyright 2023 KTUU. All rights reserved.