Controversial $607M Amazon Distribution Center In Orange Secures Key Municipal Approvals
SLATE HILL, NY—The 3.2-million/sf Amazon distribution facility project that was considered dead by many observers a few months ago, is alive and well and secured critical height exception, special use permit and site plan approvals by the Wawayanda Planning Board on Oct. 22.
With little discussion, the Planning Board approved a minor lot line change and then the requested height exception, special use permit and project site plan approval by a near-unanimous vote.
The $607-million project is believed to be among the largest private industrial developments in the history of Orange County. The project proposed by a partnership of Scannell Properties and Amazon Services, LLC, calls for the construction of a five-story Amazon robotic fulfillment and distribution center on McBride Road in Slate Hill. Each floor (two below grade and three above grade) would total approximately 600,000/sf. The 100-acre property is currently an active quarry.
With municipal and IDA approvals on the horizon, business leaders praised the Planning Board’s actions that will fuel significant tax revenue and the creation of many construction and permanent jobs. The IDA has yet to approve incentives for the Amazon project.
According to documents filed with the Orange County Industrial Development Agency, the completed Amazon facility will create at least 750 new jobs within three years of completion of construction.
L. Todd Diorio, president of the Hudson Valley Building and Construction Trades Council, said after the Planning Board vote: “This is great. It has been a long process for us to get the approval. Scannell has been a friend with labor. We have site work getting ready to start, hopefully soon, with a union contractor.”
Mr. Diorio noted that to secure IDA incentives, the developer must adhere to the IDA’s local labor policy that requires at least 85% local labor work on the project. He said that he fully expects the project to be built predominately by union tradesmen, and that initial contracts that have been let appear to be going to union contractors. He estimated the development will result in more than one million construction man hours to complete the facility.
Conor Eckert, president and chief executive officer of the Orange County Partnership, said the approval of the Amazon project is a major win for Orange County and the Hudson Valley. “It sends a strong signal that Orange County is open for business and ready to lead the next generation of economic development. This forward-thinking project will not only generate new jobs and strengthen the local tax base, but it also shows that Orange County is ready to compete nationally for high-impact, future-focused projects seeking locations in the Northeast.”
Some observers had written off the project as dead back in June when the Town of Wawayanda’s Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously (4-0) to reject a needed height variance for the Amazon project. The Scannell project, also known as “Project Bluebird,” received a favorable negative declaration by the Planning Board in June on its requested special use permit. However, the project failed to garner the necessary height variance (from 35 feet to approximately 66 feet) from the ZBA to allow it to proceed.
Developer Scannell Properties re-emerged on Aug. 13 before the Wawayanda Planning Board stating that Town Code 195-13 specifically allows for a project to be granted a height exception if its fire-fighting capacity is sufficient and if its property buffers are greater than required.
Published: October 29, 2025.