TULSA, Okla. — Is it a surprise Amazon project? Will it open at all? Those are some of the questions surrounding a building belonging to online e-commerce giant Amazon.com in southwest Tulsa.
The building sits on South 49th West Avenue next to the new Gilcrease Expressway Turnpike. It finished construction last month, and FOX23 is told it passed inspections a few weeks ago. It has sat vacant since then without any announcements for job hiring or even a ribbon cutting.
In the past few years, Amazon’s presence in the Tulsa metro has grown dramatically with a delivery center, a distribution center, and a sorting center built near the eastern sides of Tulsa International Airport in northeast Tulsa.
However, there has never been any kind of official announcement about a fourth Amazon project, let alone one being south of the Berryhill community in southwest Tulsa near the new turnpike.
Tulsa County property records state the building is owned by ET TULSA LLC, which is the same side company Amazon used to let up both its distribution and sorting facilities already in operation. The building is also in a distinct white and light blue paint scheme that Amazon uses for most of its buildings.
FOX23 News reached out to the Tulsa Regional Chamber, the City of Tulsa, Tulsa County, and the Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG) who assists businesses with planning, permitting, and rezoning. None of the organizations had on record any major announcement from the company on another project in the works anywhere in the Tulsa metro, and none of the organizations told FOX23 they had been informed of any ribbon cuttings, hiring announcements, or any plans for the buildings future whatsoever.
Despite its growth in Tulsa and across the country, Amazon announced this month is was closing, delaying, and even outright cancelling warehouse projects as the economy slows and consumers spending is hurt by inflation and plans for a coming recession in 2023.
Officials who spoke with FOX23 off camera told FOX23 they have reached out to the company to see if the building will remain vacant despite being brand new and ready for operation in light of the company’s announcement of reducing its operations, and they had to received a clear answer themselves.
FOX23 reached out to Amazon for a comment Wednesday and earlier this month as part of an investigation into the new turnpike.
The company said in a statement:
“We’re still excited to launch our new delivery station in Tulsa, though we’ve had to adjust our timing. We look forward to sharing new timing along with information about the great jobs, competitive pay, and comprehensive benefits we’ll be offering as soon as we can.”
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