Amazon outlines plans for massive West Oahu fulfillment center

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Amazon returned to the Makakilo, Kapolei and Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board on Wednesday night to discuss plans for a massive fulfillment center proposed for West Oahu.

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The company last presented the project to the board in December.

Amazon has operated a distribution center in Sand Island for nearly two years, but the proposed facility in Campbell Industrial Park would be significantly larger.

The facility would allow Amazon to store products on Oahu, making faster shipping, including some same-day and next-day deliveries, possible for local customers.

Plans call for a five-story warehouse standing about 100 feet high, with nearly 3 million square feet of floor space across the site on Kalaeloa Boulevard.

The retail giant bought the 49-acre property in 2021 for $76 million. Company officials describe the project as one of the largest private investments in West Oahu history.

“We anticipate that the project is going to create over a thousand full-time jobs,” said Stephen Maduli-Williams, Amazon’s senior economic development manager. “In addition to that, there are going to be several hundred construction jobs.”

If approved, the fulfillment center would allow some orders to arrive as soon as the next day.

Neighborhood board chair Anthony Makana Paris said community discussions are important as the permitting process moves forward.

“We want to make sure that we try and find a win-win situation where Amazon can be the best neighbor possible if the community wants to welcome them,” Paris said.

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One of the biggest hurdles for the project is a requested height variance that would allow the building to rise to five stories.

“Amazon has gone through and submitted to the Department of Planning and Permitting for the City and County of Honolulu for a variance from the current regulations,” Paris said.

Public comments on the variance request are expected to remain open through June 8.

Not everyone supports the project.

Neighborhood board member Dr. Kioni Dudley said he worries about increased truck traffic and automation replacing jobs.

“I really think that it could be a terrible, terrible calamity for our people,” Dudley said.

He also raised concerns about the facility’s planned loading docks and the use of robotics technology.

Amazon pushed back on concerns that the project could hurt local businesses.

“So 60% of everything you buy online from Amazon comes from a small business,” Maduli-Williams said. “We allow small business to accelerate their growth by being able to sell online.”

Amazon hopes to complete construction by 2029 and have the facility fully operational by 2030.

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