E-commerce giant Amazon Inc. has picked the Aroostook County city of Caribou, population 7,328, as its first warehouse site in Maine.
“Caribou has a great location in central Aroostook County and we appreciate this investment,” City Manager Penny Thompson told Mainebiz.
She confirmed the company’s plans to fit out a warehouse at 33 Aldridge Drive for a new distribution hub, saying that deputy code enforcement officer Tony Michaud has been working closely with the contractor and did an inspection last week.
While the inspection is nearing completion, Amazon has not yet been issued a certificate of occupancy, she said.
A spokesperson for Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
The Seattle-based company had been scouting potential locations in Scarborough several years ago, but no facility there materialized, and there are not currently any other Amazon warehouses in Maine. The closest distribution center is in Nashua, N.H. Other New England hubs are located in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
In Caribou, Amazon will use an existing warehouse which Thompson said had previously been used for stainless steel food equipment manufacturing.
Thompson, honored as as a Mainebiz Woman to Watch in 2024, had no information as to how many employees Amazon expects to hire in Caribou.
Portland-based business consultancy Maine & Co. has been working with town officials on the Amazon site plans.
Ashley Pringle, senior vice president for operations at Maine & Co., said, “This exciting development is a testament to the powerful results that can be achieved when statewide economic development organizations collaborate closely with highly professional and committed local teams.”
Rural expansion drive
Amazon announced in April that it was investing over $4 billion to expand its rural delivery network.
“This investment will also grow our rural delivery network’s footprint to over 200 delivery stations, and we estimate it will create over 100,000 new jobs and driving opportunities through a wide range of full-time, part-time and flexible positions in our buildings and on the roads,” Udit Madan, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations, said at the time.