A drone photo of a construction site for what will become Amazon’s sprawling operations hub in Burnside Industrial Park. Photo by Ryan TaplinArticle contentA construction site on a vast stretch of a Nova Scotia industrial park is giving shape to Amazon’s biggest investment in the province.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentSpanning more than a kilometre, the job site at the far end of the Burnside Industrial Park in Dartmouth, across the harbour from Halifax, is buzzing with about two dozen excavators, bulldozers, front-end loaders and dump trucks as crews blast and clear a rocky outcrop for what will become the e-commerce giant’s sprawling operations hub.Article contentArticle contentArticle content“I can confirm Amazon is building a new operations site there,” Amazon Canada spokesperson Amy Diaz said in an email. “We are still in the early stages of planning, so don’t have more to share at this time.”Article contentHalifax Regional Municipality permit records describe the project as the “construction of a new large-scale industrial fulfillment facility” on an 82-acre property on Burnside Drive that was purchased earlier this year for $25.2 million.Article content Broccolini, a Montreal-based real estate developer and construction firm, has been a long-time Amazon partner. Broccolini crews have been working at a construction site in the Burnside Industrial Park. Photo by Glenn MacDonaldArticle contentHalifax spokesperson Sarah Brannen confirmed the purchase price in an email Thursday but said “the transaction remains subject to a confidentiality agreement between parties.”Article contentBrannen also confirmed that the total project value submitted by the applicant is $200 million “for the construction of a building with a proposed footprint of 114,947.20 square metres.”Article contentSubstantially bigger second Burnside facilityArticle contentAt more than 1.2 million square feet, the two-storey building would be more than three times the size of the nearby IKEA store in Dartmouth Crossing. Municipal permit records indicate that the Amazon facility will stand about 15 metres (48 feet) high.Article contentArticle contentOnce completed, it will be the largest Amazon fulfillment centre east of Ontario.Article contentArticle contentNon-sortable fulfillment centres, according to Amazon, typically range from 600,000 to one million square feet and employ more than 1,000 full-time workers who “pick, pack, and ship bulky or larger-sized customer items such as patio furniture, outdoor equipment, or rugs.” Its sortable fulfillment centres, which handle smaller products such as toys and houseware, are generally about 800,000 square feet and employ more than 1,500 full-time workers.Article contentThe Burnside project will significantly expand Amazon’s Canadian logistics network, which includes nearly 70 major facilities – fulfillment centres, sortation centres and delivery stations – across British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.Article contentThe company exited Quebec’s distribution network in 2024, closing seven major facilities encompassing approximately 2.25 million square feet.Article contentAmazon is also constructing a 3.1 million-square-foot, five-level distribution centre in Ottawa’s Barrhaven community that will surpass all existing Canadian sites in size and automation capacity when completed.
Amazon building massive $200 million operations hub in Nova Scotia industrial park
