If you thought the Amazon fulfillment center in Middletown is big, wait until you see what they have planned next, just a few miles away.
Middletown Mayor Ken Branner said the town has approved a 3.2-million-square-foot Amazon center on about 135 acres near Middle Neck and Warwick roads. It’s near the Route 301 interchange, the Puglisi Egg Farms property and the Maryland line.
That’s about three times the size of the Amazon center in Middletown, which is just over 1 million square feet, built in 2012 on Merrimac Avenue.
Amazon officials released only basic details.
“I can confirm that we've purchased property in Middletown with the intent of opening an operations facility in the future,” said Amazon spokesperson Rao Smith.
In December, the Middletown Planning and Zoning Commission approved a preliminary major land development plan for “301 Business Park North” at 1963, 1985 and 1999 Middle Neck Road.
Middletown Mayor and Council approved the preliminary plan and the record plan presented by Richard Forsten, attorney representing the owner, 301 Logistics LLC, and Brian Conlon with Langan Engineers in January.
According to New Castle County property records, Amazon.com Services LLC of Seattle bought property from NZ-301 Logistics LLC of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, and the deed was recorded April 22, 2025. There’s a “sale amount” in the records, but it’s listed as $10. Delaware Business Times reported the price at $87.5 million, but neither Smith nor Branner would confirm that.
“This process is in the early planning stages and additional steps remain,” Smith said. “We'll share more when we can.”
The company shared more with Branner and other town leaders during an April 15 tour of the company’s Boxwood Road facility near Newport to show what the new Middletown facility will be like.
Branner said the plans are for a similar facility, with five floors, each 20 feet high for a total height of 100 feet, but with smaller total square footage than the 3.8-million-square-foot Boxwood center.
During the tour, he was “amazed and impressed” at all the robots buzzing around, moving packages.
“There were robots everywhere, but they never run into each other. They were about 3 feet high and they just run down the lines of shelves,” Branner said.
They saw a robot stop near them and plug itself into a charger.
“Then when it was done charging, it went out to the edge of the aisle until a computer told it what to do next,” Branner said.
The day of the tour, the Boxwood facility shipped about 1 million packages.
“They said Boxwood Road is usually in the top five distribution centers in the country,” Branner said. “Boxwood was number one that day.”
While the center uses lots of robots, Branner said every truck is packed by employees.
“They were loading 14 trailers at a time and they hand pack them to fill all the empty spaces,” Branner said.
As far as an estimated number of jobs this new Middletown warehouse could create, Amazon would not comment.
Branner said, “We’re thinking 1,000 to 1,200, because even though it’s larger than the current [Middletown] center, it will be more efficient with the latest technology.”
That’s about the same number that work in at the Middletown Amazon, with more temporary jobs added during the holiday shopping rush.
The company spokesperson would not comment on when construction would begin or an estimated opening date for the new fulfillment center.
Branner said since the town has approved a preliminary site plan and sediment control plan, Amazon could start site work anytime.
He said the new facility should benefit the town like the current fulfillment center.
“It’s provided jobs, and the opportunity for higher-paying jobs, and tax dollars for the town,” Branner said.
The presence of Amazon has helped attract other companies to Middletown, and there’s the ripple effect on the local economy with Amazon employees patronizing local businesses, he said. The company has also made donations in the community.
“They’ve been great partners,” Branner said.
Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate, development and business stories. Reach him at [email protected].