Project Axis is a 2.6-million-square-foot Amazon sort and distribution facility in Garner, North Carolina. Working with Hillwood, a Dallas-based developer, WithersRavenel prepared site surveys, wetland, stream, and buffer evaluation, site design, and off-site road improvement design, and coordinated all entitlements and permitting for this fast-track project.
The site, which was formerly a food processing facility, includes just under 1,800 surface automobile parking spaces, 200 trailer storage spaces, requires more than 75 acres of disturbance, and incorporates two massive underground stormwater detention devices on a recognized Brownfield redevelopment site.
In addition to the on-site improvements, WithersRavenel is performing full design and construction administration and observation to widen Jones Sausage Road from a two-lane roadway to a four-lane median divided facility along the Amazon Fulfillment Center’s roadway frontage.
From concept to the start of construction, our team worked with the Town of Garner, NCDEQ, USACE, NCDOT, Wake County Economic Development, Garner Economic Development, as well as the City of Raleigh, to meet the four-month design and permitting deadline required for the project.
The project is receiving economic development funding from Wake County and NCDOT and therefore strict requirements for materials testing and construction standards and specifications must be followed. WithersRavenel is responsible for coordination with a separate materials testing firm to ensure proper testing and sampling and subsequent paperwork is being completed. WithersRavenel is also performing weekly progress meetings with NCDOT, the client, Town of Garner, and contractor; reviewing pay applications; and documenting all construction activities and materials received.
The project was unique in the sense that it became a quasi-design/build project as WithersRavenel worked with the developer, the project architect, and the site contractor to deliver the project on time while a prototype for the facility was being developed. This required significant coordination to ensure all plan updates and revisions were communicated to all parties during construction.
The Amazon Sort & Distribution Facility in Garner, which broke ground in July of 2018, became fully operational on August 1, 2020.