Kannapolis looks at road change for Amazon distribution center

Published 12:00 am Sunday, May 13, 2018

By Andie Foley
andie.foley@salisburypost.com

The Kannapolis City Council on Monday will schedule a public hearing to close a portion of Macedonia Church Road.

The closure will accommodate a new, 1 million-square-foot Amazon distribution center along the road, just off of North Carolina Highway 73 and Kannapolis Parkway.

The center will bring with it some 600 new jobs for the city.

Currently, Macedonia Church Road intersects with Barr Road near Old Macedonia Court, through the future-Amazon facility location.

Property owners have requested closure of the portion of the road near Barr Road and Old Macedonia Court.

The road’s intersection with Barr Road will be moved northward, across from Kannapolis Fire Station Five.

The public hearing date on the closure, a right-of-way withdrawal, is tentatively set for June 11. It will be finalized during Monday’s 6 p.m. meeting at Kannapolis City Hall.

The meeting will be held in the City Hall Council Chambers, 401 Laureate Way.

In other business from Monday’s agenda, the Kannapolis City Council could move to approve a reimbursement agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division.

NCDOT is willing to pay for wayfinding improvements at the city’s train station.

These include a new sign with a clock in the front of the building, lettering on the building facing Main Street, metal awnings facing Main Street, and wayfinding signs near the entrance of the building and parking lot.

These have been designed by Buzz Bizzell to match the citywide wayfinding package.

If the agreement is approved, the city will contract for improvements and be reimbursed by the Department of Transportation.

NCDOT will reimburse the city up to $42,388.89 for the cost of improvements.