It’s easily the biggest thing in Otay Mesa. It’s likely the biggest thing in San Diego County.
“It’s 3,300,000 square feet,” marveled Rob Hixson as he stood in front of a massive building under construction along Otay Mesa Road.
The structure has more floor space than the San Diego Convention Center. No need to go to Carson -- it could double as a temporary football stadium for San Diego State.
“You can see it from so far, like a destination,” said Hixson, a commercial real estate broker with CBRE.
Hixson said the gigantic construction project will eventually become Amazon’s newest distribution center. He said it will bring about 1,500 new jobs to the region.
“Fortunately, in San Diego, the construction industry wasn’t stopped,” Hixson said.
“Super excited about that,” added Alejandra Mier y Teran.
The executive director for the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce said the Amazon building is only one of many new ventures in the area.
“There’s a whole bunch more projects that are coming, and it’s exciting,” Mier y Teran said.
The Salvation Army has a new facility under construction, two large warehouses are almost done and ready for tenants. and the county of San Diego is also building an emergency vehicle operations center with a track and skills course for police and emergency vehicle drivers.
“We’re very excited that our companies have recovered, practically almost a hundred percent,” said Mier y Teran.
The longtime chamber leader said cross-border truck traffic is also at record highs. Despite the pandemic slowing the economy to a crawl in March, the number of trucks headed toward Otay Mesa warehouses in July was the highest ever, according to Mier y Teran.
“Which is a great sign,” chimed in Hixson.
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Both agreed: Otay Mesa is one of the last places to build large warehouses without breaking the bank in San Diego County. Hixson predicted the Amazon facility would be the catalyst for even more growth.
“There are also people that sell to Amazon and provide things to Amazon that will create a cluster around here also,” Hixson said. “So, a whole bunch more jobs.”
Hixson said Amazon’s new building would be completed by next summer. Once it's completed, it will increase the warehouse storage space in Otay Mesa from 16 million square feet to almost 20 million, he said.
