Amazon drops plans for Crystal Lake distribution center, city officials say

Amazon will not be moving forward with plans for a distribution center in Crystal Lake, city officials confirmed this week.

The company made a decision this summer to pause expansion plans for a number of “last-mile distribution centers” in the Midwest, including the one proposed in Crystal Lake, said the city’s community development director Katie Cowlin.

Attempts to reach Amazon were unsuccessful.

The decision was made before Amazon formally bought the property, so the property still is for sale, Cowlin said.

The Crystal Lake City Council had approved plans for the warehouse last December; the facility, which would have been located north of Congress Parkway and east of South Main Street, was expected to be over 180,000 square feet and could have created 500 new jobs.

An even larger facility in Huntley, near the intersection of Route 47 and Interstate 90, remains under construction and while the opening was delayed, Amazon officials told the Northwest Herald in July to expect a late 2022 or early 2023 opening.

The Huntley site, which is more than three times bigger than the Crystal Lake proposal, is estimated to create 1,000 new jobs.