Amazon is coming to town

TILTON — All the necessary permits and waivers have been secured, and the land has been cleared, for a 50,000-square-foot Amazon distribution center on Business Park Drive, scheduled to be completed by April 2027.

According to Pat Consentino — land use coordinator for the town, as well as selectboard chair — the property was purchased from Clarke Case Nickerson for $3.1 million, on June 11.

According to the property deed, two tracts of land were purchased. The first was four subdivided lots, amounting to 7.83 acres, which will be merged. The second was three other subdivided lots across the street, totaling 6.73 acres, also to be merged.

The project was presented as Project Winnie by SPA Properties LLC, from Indianapolis, and Consentino said the plans are for an Amazon distribution center. According to the deed of sale, the property was sold by Clarke Case Nickerson to Amazon.com Services LLC.

The site plan was approved by the Tilton Zoning Board of Adjustment on March 24, and the notice of the decision was filed the following day. It included criteria for merging the properties, which was aligned with the day the site work began. Site work is being completed by ARCO Excavators.

Information prepared by Langan Engineering & Environmental Services shows the project consists of seven parcels amounting to about 14.5 acres. The northern lots, which total 7.83 acres, will contain a distribution center of about 50,500 square feet, and includes site improvements like landscaping, hardscaping, parking lots, driveways, retaining walls, utilities, and drainage.

“This is just the building itself, a warehouse, and not open for the public, for employees only,” Consentino said.

The project includes about 6,950 square feet of proposed wetland filling, which, according to a stormwater management report on March 29, has been approved by state Department of Environmental Services staff, through a dredge and fill permit.

These northern lots include a van parking lot, retaining walls and associated drainage. There will be five new access drives, as well.

The southern lots, which are three merged lots, are going to be for delivery vans. Consentino said employees will come to the warehouse, park their vehicles, pick up products to load into their vans, and deliver throughout the Lakes Region.

Consentino said talks began in early 2025, and the site plan and permits presented by SPA Properties were approved that year. She said a representative from SPA Properties came to the planning and zoning boards, and conservation commission, and received all necessary approvals from DES to move forward.

One variance of note was filed on Jan. 29, and approved on March 11, to permit filling of wetland buffers in the Wetlands Conservation Overlay District to allow grading, drainage and retaining walls.

“Just like any business, they got what they needed to get the business done to move forward,” Consentino said. “The property has been sold, and everything has been approved.”

Consentino said town staff have had scoping meetings with the property owners, with representatives of police and fire, and the highway, sewer, and water departments. She said the group worked to make sure all the pieces melded together, so when all criteria were met, they could hit the ground running.

“All entities, we need to have it go smoothly,” Consentino said. “Now they are clearing the land, clearing the lots, keeping in mind their duties to [the Department of Transportation] and stormwater protection.”

Site plan work began June 11, and on Thursday, excavators were clearing the plots. Work was just getting started in the area which will eventually be a parking lot. Consentino said the plan is for 101 employee parking spaces, and 198 offsite parking spaces for delivery vans across the street.

“This is a huge project, and it’s been ongoing for a long time,” Consentino said.

The only minor piece of paperwork left is for the property owners to secure an excavation permit. Consentino said the town has an old zoning ordinance, which is rare, that states topsoil cannot be removed from the town. She said this stops people from removing topsoil and selling it, and eliminates the chance of removing nutrients from the land.

“They need to have a special permit to do it,” Consentino said. “They didn’t feel that they would be reusing the soil, but now they are doing site work, and felt they should get a permit, just in case they don’t use all the topsoil.”

Representatives of the property owner will be meeting with the ZBA in August.

Consentino said Amazon is expecting to hire “quite a few” employees, and from what she has been told, the hiring will be for “mid to high” paying jobs.

“That is a win for Tilton.”

Consentino said the town has been experiencing an “incredible amount” of building, as projects are taking place up and down the Route 3 corridor over the last 18 months. She admits public reception has been mixed.

“Some people see a lot of building going on in town that is positive," Consentino said. “Part of the town would love to keep Tilton the way it is. There are mixed emotions."

With the state pushing for more housing, she said Tilton is no exception, and legislation has started to make it easier to build. She said there is certainly a need for housing, but it's a big change from the town’s original plan.

“There are over 500 residential housing [units] in two miles, from Sanborn Road to Mosquito Bridge in Tilton, over the last 18 months, that was approved primarily due to changes in legislation,” Consentino said.

Consentino has yet to hear much talk from the public about the Amazon warehouse.

“We have a very active conservation commission in town, and we also have a master plan rewrite underway,” Consentino said. “Everyone is looking at things from a different perspective, but by the same token, we are looking at moving Tilton forward.”

A representative from Amazon declined to comment, but said information is expected to be released in the future.