TEMPLE, TX — Texas Governor Greg Abbott is expected to be in Waco Friday to announcement the construction of a new Amazon fulfillment center.
The facility will take up more than 700,000 square feet and employ about 1,000 people.
The economic benefits will go far beyond Waco. Bell County and other surrounding areas stand to benefit too.
Tina Richter trains factory workers on their lunch hours to give them a fitness break. She says the business growth in Central Texas has helped her business grow too.
"There's definitely a lot more people in the area and businesses especially. More opportunity for me? Absolutely!" said the fitness instructor with Camp Gladiator.
This week's Amazon announcement has the whole region buzzing, especially the man marketing the lot just across the street from Amazon.
"How is demand out there for this kind of thing?" asked reporter Dennis Turner.
"You know I think the demand is good. I think anytime you see dirt moving, it's a good sign," said Gregg Glime, with Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate
It's such a good sign that developers are ready to move dirt on as many as three warehouses in the area.
"We're always getting inquiries into the market, so we're gonna put on the ground what I think is gonna fulfill the demand that we're seeing right now," said Glime.
From Waco's Texas Central Industrial Park to the Temple Industrial Park, you'll find plenty of dirt moving these days. Experts say the Amazon news will speed up the process in both Waco and Temple.
How does Temple stand to benefit from Amazon's arrival in Central Texas? If you ask the experts, they'll tell you all of Bell County stands to benefit quite a lot.
Amazon fulfillment centers often specialize in certain categories, giving Temple, just down the road, it's own chance to cash in with amazon suppliers.
"Could be hardware manufacturers, product manufacturers that are doing really well at Amazon's fulfillment centers. We still have yet to know all the details about what Amazon is planning. They have a number of different types of fulfillment centers that specialize in different products," explained Adrian Cannady of the Temple Economic Development Corporation.
He says both Temple and Waco share one key advantage.
"When you look at our central location here in Temple, we're within two and a half hours of 80% of Texas' population," Cannady said.
Something Richter will count on as Temple looks to capture some of that Amazon spin-off business.
"With Amazon coming here, they need more employees, and more employees means more clients for me," she said.
More for her, even 25 to 30 miles down the road from the big Amazon epicenter in Central Texas.
