Some residents of the Westphalia community in Prince George's County, Maryland, say plans for a 4-million-square-foot fulfillment center in their town is not the development they were hoping for.
Sources familiar with the plans told News4 the site will be occupied by Amazon.
The building would have a 818,423-square-foot footprint and five stories on a 79-acre site, creating roughly 4 million gross square feet, the Washington Business Journal reports. The property would also include 1,794 parking spaces, 267 loading spaces and ground-floor office space.
Residents say developers promised a town center with retail space and grocery stores. Now, they're concerned how the massive warehouse would change the community.
"They had promised a mixed-use, vibrant town center with offices and retail and what they're left with is a huge warehouse that's the size of 16 football fields," said Bradley Heard, a blogger for Prince George's Urbanest.
Walton Westphalia Development Corp., the developer of Westphalia Town Center said the business would encourage more businesses to open.
"It is very clear to us that 1,500 new jobs coming into this community will be the catalyst that will spur the retail development," said Edward Flemming, vice president of Walton Global Holdings.
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Fleming would not confirm that Amazon is the tenant.
About 100 residents packed into a meeting Monday night to ask questions about the plan.
"One of things we’re looking at is the property values. That's our concern. Is this going to add or detract?" resident Russell Sanders said to News4 at the meeting.
"The main thing is the other proposed amenities. School, the hotels and the shopping. That was the main draw for people moving in there."
Prince George's County officials have not approved the proposal.
The county planning board will hold a public hearing on Thursday.
