Chewy.com, an online retailer of pet food and other pet-related products, will open a massive fulfillment center in Hanover Township and create more than 600 jobs, a company spokeswoman said Thursday.
Andrea Wolfe, spokeswoman for the company based in Dania Beach, Florida, said the company will occupy a more than 800,000-square-foot warehouse being constructed at 600 New Commerce Blvd.
“We chose the area because of the great workforce available and the location/proximity to our customers,” Wolfe said in an emailed statement. “We have a growing customer base in the northeast and we want to be closer to them in order to offer faster delivery times.”
Chewy.com expects to launch the new facility in the second quarter of 2017.
The company has posted online job advertisements looking for a purchasing specialist and a customer experience program manager in the area.
Both advertisements state the company is looking to hire these positions to support its rapidly growing business.
The business, which offers about 30,000 items for dogs and cats, has another fulfillment center in Mechanicsburg, as well as warehouses in Nevada and Indiana. Its corporate headquarters is in Florida.
The pay for warehouse jobs in Mechanicsburg starts at $12.25 an hour, according to an online job post.
Ryan Cohen and Michael Day founded Chewy.com in 2011. They wanted to make the process of finding food, treats and other pet items easy and deliver the items straight to people’s doorsteps, according to the company’s website.
The online retailer’s primary product is pet food and it offers options ranging from gourmet to discount food. The company also offers other products such as leashes, grooming tools and toys.
Missouri-based NorthPoint Development owns the site where the warehouse is being constructed.
NorthPoint Development bought the Hanover Township property earlier this year for $15 million from KTR Capital Partners.
In September, Hanover Area School Board, Hanover Township commissioners and Luzerne County council approved plans from NorthPoint Development to build four warehouse buildings on the vacant land covering about 172 acres.
Brent Miles, vice president for NorthPoint Development, said Thursday that the plan was changed to a total of three warehouse buildings totaling about 2 million square feet.
Two more buildings will be constructed in the spring after Chewy.com’s building is completed, he said.
NorthPoint Development does not yet have tenants lined up for the other two buildings, but he expects the three warehouses will create 1,500 to 2,000 jobs.
In late September, Luzerne County council followed Hanover Township commissioners and the Hanover Area School Board in approving a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act tax abatement for the property that will continue until Dec. 31, 2026.
For the first eight years, 100 percent of applicable property taxes are exempt. In the ninth year, 90 percent of those taxes are exempt, and in the 10th year of the agreement, 80 percent of the taxes are exempt.
The LERTA approval came after a prior owner had secured a Keystone Opportunity Zone extension, forgiving real estate taxes and most state taxes on tenants through 2024.
Miles said the first building was constructed without a tenant lined up.
“We would not have landed this first tenant without having the agreements in place that we did,” Miles said. “We build without tenants in mind.”
Since the two previous owners did not develop the site, Miles said, “I don’t think anyone believed us.”
“I think it’s an awesome site,” Miles said. “We think it’s a great area. We love the access. We love the workforce. We feel it’s a solid investment.”
Hanover Township Manager Sam Guesto praised the economic development and job creation planned on the Hanover Township site that formerly was vacant mine-scarred land. He said this will be Chewy.com’s biggest facility in the United States.
“It’s a very good boost for the area,” Guesto said.
State Sen. John Yudichak said the development was a collaborative effort among Hanover Township commissioners, Luzerne County officials and state leaders to “draw private investment into the South Valley Corridor by creating the necessary economic environment to create jobs and attract quality companies to Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
“We are excited about NorthPoint Development and their exceptional ability to attract national tenants like Chewy.com to Hanover Township,” Yudichak said.