DULUTH — Amazon recently purchased two parcels of land from the Duluth Economic Development Authority that are located within a commercial area known as Atlas Industrial Park, according to St. Louis County records.

The 18 acres were sold to Ryan Companies on Dec. 13, 2023, for $90,324 and transferred to Amazon.com Services LLC. The site will be used as an Amazon distribution center, according to a news release from the City of Duluth.

In 2004, DEDA purchased both lots, along with additional parcels totaling approximately 60 acres, for $232,000 from Universal Atlas Cement Division. DEDA is a tax-exempt organization.

The property is situated along Commonwealth Avenue to the west and north, also across from Granite Works, located at 9830 Grand Ave.

“This is a significant win for our community. Amazon is investing in the commercial tax base of Western Duluth, requiring no public incentives to do so,” Director of Planning and Economic Development Chad Ronchetti said in the city’s release. “We expect this activation on the Atlas site will open the door to much more.”

Ronchetti also credited state and federal support, as well as the work of city staff, for making the purchase possible, including Duluth’s previous business resource manager Heidi Timm-Bijold.

According to the release, 28 acres remain available out of the 42 acres of brownfield redevelopment land on the site.

The estimated market value of the parcel now owned by Amazon.com Services LLC was $226,400 in 2022, dropping to $63,900 in 2023, according to St. Louis County records. The adjacent parcel, also owned by Amazon, had an estimated market value of $69,400 in 2023, down from $287,300 the year prior.

Meanwhile, the estimated market value of Granite Works remained steady between 2022 and 2023, then increased from $924,900 to $1,793,500 for 2024.

According to St. Louis County Information Specialist Lora Skarman, “The general reason is that we value according to sales analysis, and so what properties are selling for in the area is how we determine values.”

“The whole grouping of sales of commercial vacant land sales in (western) Duluth would be looked at as a market. If, on the whole, they are going down, the values will be reduced. If on the whole, they are going up, the values would increase,” she said.

St. Louis County Principal Appraiser Bill Downs was not immediately available to provide a comment on the varying estimated market value drops and increases in the Atlas Industrial Park area.

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