Amazon’s supply chain network expansion reached eastern Connecticut this year with proposals for a pair of distribution centers spanning a combined 2.4 million square feet in Killingly and Norwich. Photo courtesy of Amazon
Amazon’s supply chain network expansion reached eastern Connecticut this year with proposals for a pair of distribution centers spanning a combined 2.4 million square feet in Killingly and Norwich.
Both projects are seeking approvals, despite some local opposition, reflecting demand from the e-commerce sector to catalyzing major development near major highways.
Killingly’s “Project Husky” is set for a new round of public comment following a contentious initial review and denial in the Windham County town of nearly 18,000 residents.
“The applicant has not met its burden of proof, because unacceptable environmental impacts will result,” Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commissioner Corina Torrey commented in submitting a motion to deny the 1.375 million-square-foot project July 6.
Audience members applauded after the board voted 3-2 to deny Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies US’s application for a wetlands permit.
“The magnitude of it is mind-boggling. But every application that comes, it seems like we work through them to see how they can fit,” IWWC Chair Sandra Eggers said, before voting against the motion to deny. “That’s the only difference.”
“There is going to be a loss of wetland resources,” Torrey responded. “That is something that we as a commission are set out to protect.”
New Proposal Set for Hearing in September
But opponents’ celebrations were short-lived as developers promptly submitted an updated proposal for a 1.29 million square-foot project just before a town-wide moratorium on new warehouse development was set to take effect July 20.
A public hearing on the new proposal is scheduled for Sept. 14. Emotions flared at previous public hearings, prompting commissioners to warn they would ask constables to keep the peace and quell audience outbursts.
The project would be built on a 340-acre portion of a 556-acre site. Developers have offered to convey the remaining 216 acres to the town of Killingly for protection as conservation land.
In preparing to seek approvals, Ryan Companies assembled 26 separate parcels located on Westcott, Mashentuck and Cook Hill roads, Baker and Stearns streets.
The IWWC approval is the key local permitting hurdle. The site is located within a business park zoning district, in which warehouses and distribution centers are allowed uses.
The plans include creation, restoration and enhancement of “small, isolated” wetlands on the development area, according to application materials. The developer also has offered to provide a conservation easement for nearly 77 acres designed to protect 7 acres of wetlands.
At a previous meeting, a consultant from Waterford-based All-Points Technology said the developers’ mitigation plans would prevent adverse effects on wetlands.
New Facilities Shave Shipping Distances
Amazon is seeking up to 51 million square feet of new distribution space this year, up from 39 million square feet in 2025, consulting firm MWPVL International has reported.
In a July 30 quarterly earnings call, Amazon CEO Andy Jasse said the e-commerce leader is committed to shortening shipping distances and reducing the number of steps in the delivery chain.
The strategy includes expansion of “first-mile” distribution centers that accept deliveries from suppliers, package products, record shipping and tracking documentation and load them onto delivery trucks to enter Amazon’s distribution network.
One such facility could become the inaugural tenant of a new industrial park in Norwich: the Occum Industrial Park [OIC].
In 2022, Norwich Community Development Corp. acquired 185 acres of former farmland bordering Interstate 395 in the Occum neighborhood. The site is the biggest undeveloped parcel in the city suitable for large-scale projects.
The community development corporation is planning to construct a new $18-million access road providing a direct connection into the property from the existing highway exit 18, and upgrading utility infrastructure to support commercial development.
NCDC officials estimate the OIC could attract $300 million in investment by industrial users, and have been marketing the site through Cushman & Wakefield’s Hartford office and the AdvanceCT nonprofit economic development agency’s web site.
This month, New York-based Bluewater Construction Group submitted applications to the Norwich Inland Wetlands, Watercourses & Conservation Commission to develop a 1.1 million-square-foot distribution center on 92 acres.
Bluewater also partnered with Amazon on its 3.2 million square-foot distribution center that broke ground last fall on the Naugatuck-Waterbury line.
Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh spoke in favor of the project at the commission’s Aug. 6 meeting, The Day newspaper reported, citing job creation and property tax benefits. The city will host public information sessions in September, prior to the opening of a public hearing on the IWWCC application Oct. 1.
