KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The transformation of the old Knoxville Center mall site to an Amazon delivery station has begun.
Crews are gathering equipment to do the deconstruction work on the property, with the process expected to begin as early as next week.
A demolition permit was issued by the city March 17. D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co. out of Greensboro, N.C., is doing the work, valued at $1.775 million.
According to a press release, the new delivery station will be at the former Knoxville Center mall location, five miles east of downtown Knoxville by Interstate 640, and will power Amazon’s last-mile delivery capabilities to speed up deliveries for customers in the Tennessee Valley.
The station will create hundreds of full-time and part-time jobs, paying a minimum of $15 per hour and offering a variety of benefits packages from day one, officials said.
Opened in 1984, the mall closed in January 2020, and the land tracts were officially sold earlier in March 2021 for $22.1 million.
Each new delivery station, including the one in Knoxville, is designed to meet the needs of Amazon's electric delivery vehicles. Officials said Amazon is working towards putting 10,000 electric delivery vehicles on the road in 2022.
The delivery station is expected to open in 2022, officials said.
A look at the mall's grand opening in July 1984: