Ottawa Construction News staff writer
Amazon is dramatically expanding its presence in the national capital with a new, massive fulfillment centre in the south-end suburb of Barrhaven, a project that promises jobs but has also fueled local concerns about traffic.
The five-storey, 3.1 million-sq. ft. structure is currently under construction at 99 Bill Leathem Dr. and is slated to be the e-commerce giant’s largest in Canada upon its expected completion in 2026.
Amazon has not confirmed the number of jobs the new centre will create, but the project’s developer, Broccolini, previously estimated a facility of this scale could employ up to 2,500 people.
The company purchased the land from Broccolini for a reported $109.1 million.
“We are excited to continue our investment in Ottawa and look forward to creating more than 2,500 great jobs for the talented local workforce,” a Broccolini vice-president of real estate management, James Beach, said in a 2021 statement about a previous Amazon facility in the city.
This new, larger project has generated apprehension among some community members.
Concerns have focused on the potential for a significant increase in truck traffic in an already congested part of the city.
Carol Anne Meehan, the former city councillor for the area when the project was first approved, voiced frustration over the lack of public input.
“There was no public consultation on the site plan because none was required and that’s a shame because a development of this magnitude deserved to be discussed in public,” Meehan told CTV News Ottawa in 2022. “What I heard from the community was a lot of concern.”
The development plans include 59 loading docks and a large, fenced-in truck yard to accommodate the high volume of traffic expected at the site.
David Hill, the current councillor for Barrhaven West, has acknowledged the traffic concerns but also pointed to the potential economic benefits for the city.
The new warehouse joins a growing network of Amazon facilities in the region, including a major distribution hub that opened on Citigate Drive in 2021 and another on Boundary Road, solidifying Ottawa’s role as a key logistics hub for the company in Eastern Ontario.
