Crest Hill sees new Amazon facility as an economic driver
Crest Hill, near Joliet, wants to be known for more than being the home of Stateville Correctional Center, where convicted mass murderer John Wayne Gacy was executed.
While Stateville is the largest employer in town with about 1,000 workers, Crest Hill will welcome Amazon and 400 to 800 jobs this October, said Crest Hill Mayor Ray Soliman.
The retail giant will occupy an existing 438,000-square-foot building on Churnovic Lane, near Division Street and Weber Road in the town's business park. The deal has been in the works for about eight months.
"We're very excited to have Amazon move in," Soliman said. "Because of their stature, this could open a lot of other doors here for economic development."
The Crest Hill facility will mainly sort packages and could open later this year, said Amazon spokeswoman Shevaun Brown.
"We'll be hiring for hundreds and hundreds of roles to support operations at this facility, and hiring will begin one to two months before the facility comes online," said Brown.
Amazon has been rapidly expanding into various warehouses and other facilities around the region.
In June, Amazon showed off its newest Romeoville facility, which joined nine others that will employ more than 8,000 workers in Illinois by next year. Two also are operating in Joliet, one in Edwardsville, near St. Louis, while others in Monee and Aurora will open later this year.
The company also has Amazon Fresh, a new online grocery shopping business that opened a facility in Wood Dale. Another facility has been leased in Waukegan.
"Everyone would like to have Amazon in their backyard," Soliman said.