County Planning Board approve temporary concrete plant for Amazon construction
Mar. 27—Another step in Amazon's journey to Niagara County was given the go-ahead.
The Niagara County Planning Board approved Riccelli Enterprises to set up a portable concrete plant for the future 3.1-million square foot $550 million Amazon warehouse in the Town of Niagara. It will only supply concrete for the Amazon development and be located right next to the Lockport Road site.
The plant will be at 3214 Haseley Drive, at the current Ventry Concrete site. Chris Wood, the project engineer of Carmina Wood Design, said the facility was originally going to be on the Amazon site, but the site owners determined it was too difficult to have it there while construction was going on.
"They asked us if we could find something near the site that could still be achieved with less truck traffic," Wood said before the planning board at its March meeting.
Richard Riccelli, the president of Riccelli Enterprises, said the plant would be capable of making 125 yards of concrete an hour, with up to 14 trucks a day delivering the raw materials. The stone would come from LaFarge Holcim's Lockport quarry and the sand from Gernatt Asphalt Products in Collins.
The plant will be placed on new concrete pads and connected to an existing water main line to get water access.
The plant will be in operation for 12 months, from May until May 2025. After which, as Wood put it, it would be like it was never there at all as it would be dismantled, all the concrete pads and bins would be removed, and water service would be canceled.
"We've worked on these projects before," Riccelli said.
Between 10 and 12 people would be hired for this plant, which includes seven drivers, one or two operating engineers, a plant operator, and a plant manager.
A safety consultant will also be on the site to monitor silica levels, which can be harmful if inhaled into a person's lungs.
This concrete plant is the latest development for Niagara's Amazon future warehouse, with the land at the 216-acre Lockport Road site being cleared since the retail giant purchased it this past July. The five-story facility would act as a first-mile fulfillment center, with plans calling for 55 loading docks, 414 trailer parking stalls, and 1,755 car parking stalls.
The actual construction is expected to take 18 to 24 months to complete.
