KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The walls are up at the site of a new Amazon delivery station built out of the former Knoxville Center Mall.
As of May 30, a large awning hangs over the side of the building. Trees have also been planted in some spots of the parking lot and along the side of the building. Bays for trucks have also been installed and light posts jut out of the ground in spots around the parking lot.
Crews previously built the framework for the large building, with cement walls jutting out of the ground surrounded by excavators and bulldozers. They started gathering equipment for deconstruction work in late March and a few months later the former mall was completely torn down. Steel beams were also planted into the ground around the massive building as construction continues.
The City of Knoxville issued D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co. a wrecking permit. The company is located out of Greensboro, N.C.
Work to dismantle the old East Towne Mall started on the west side, where the JCPenney store used to be.
Amazon previously said the delivery station will speed up deliveries in the area. It was expected to open in 2022 and hire hundreds of employees. Those jobs were expected to offer $15 per hour and a variety of benefits packages for workers' first days.
However, officials later said the opening date would be delayed by around a year due to supply chain issues.
A look back at the old Knoxville Center mall: