WSKG Elmira-Corning reporter Natalie Abruzzo has been reporting on a proposed warehouse site in Chemung County. In documents, officials have called the development “Project Milo.” It has since been revealed that the facility would be an Amazon warehouse and distribution center.
Natalie spoke with WSKG News Director Phoebe Taylor-Vuolo about the proposed project.
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
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Phoebe Taylor-Vuolo: Where would this distribution center be built?
Natalie Abruzzo: Well, the facility will be approximately 150,000 square feet and built on 30 acres of land in the town of Big Flats, in an area known as the Airport Business Corporate Park. It's on the south side of Interstate 86. The other side of the interstate is where the Elmira Corning Regional Airport sits, among several other industrial businesses. The land abuts a park and walking trail.
According to records, Amazon is looking to buy the land. According to the documents submitted to the Big Flats Planning Board, the estimated cost of the project is $40 million.
PTV: Why is this called “Project Milo”?
NA: So according to records with the town board, the name “Project Milo” is due to an existing non-disclosure agreement with Amazon, because the company wants to develop on this property while looking at other potential locations. But officials and some documents state that it is indeed Amazon.
PTV: The Chemung County Industrial Development Agency, or CCIDA, owns the land, right? Do we know whether they're on board with selling it to this company?
NA: According to Mark Margeson, who chairs the board of the IDA, they don't yet know whether Amazon will buy the land or lease it. Here's Margeson:
“There's so many different variables that haven't even been figured out yet, because the attorneys are in the process of trying to decide whether this project is even going to happen.”
PTV: And what does a project like this actually bring to the area?
NA: Amazon's intermediary, Montante Group, has said to the town that this project could essentially bring at least 400 warehouse and driver jobs and a number of both initial construction and seasonal jobs.
It is being proposed to augment the Amazon facility in Bath, in Steuben County. The Big Flats location would be nearly double the size of that facility. According to town documents, the proposed Big Flats facility would not replace the Bath facility, though.
PTV: And when would construction start on this?
NA: Documents state that the construction could begin as early as this spring, which is part of some confusion over what stage this project is in.
Last week, the Big Flats Town Board approved a special use permit submitted by the town's planning board. It was unclear after the meeting whether there was one more approval step.
I asked a couple of town officials for clarification, and they said there'd be another approval in March. But when I followed up with an email to the town's planning board, I was told all town approvals have been met.
So I asked Margeson for clarification, and he said that, as the property owner, the IDA has not approved the project yet:
“We haven't voted on anything. We haven't voted on a value. We haven't voted on selling the land. The only thing that we voted on is whether or not they have the right to—we’ll hold it for them for 15 months. That's what the commitment has been so far. Other than that, there's been no commitments to the project.”
We still don't know the exact status of the project and whether the public has had enough time to review the information and attend public meetings to address the town and the county with their concerns.
PTV: What are some of those concerns?
NA: Phoebe, there are concerns about public safety and public health as well as the environmental impact on the surrounding area—most specifically Sperr Memorial Park that is located on the same road. It was constructed and dedicated to State Trooper Andrew Sperr, who died while on duty in 2006.
It has a playground, benches, a pavilion with picnic tables and grills and a walking trail that goes around a large pond, plus a spot with a monument dedicated to Officer Sperr. Amazon expects the facility to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There will be a lot of traffic, tractor trailers, Amazon delivery vans and employee vehicles going in and out of the facility all day and all night.
One resident raised air pollution concerns surrounding the truck traffic:
“Walking in Sperr Park you think you're getting exercise. Well, you're going to be breathing in lots of chemicals. Big Flats Elementary, not very far away, kids going out on recess, they're going to be breathing that air with trucks coming in and out constantly.”
Some residents who spoke had only just found out about the town meeting and the proposed project that same day, and wondered how this hadn't been public information long before this one vote.
Here's resident, Sheila Murray:
“So what I would ask is that the board make the information easily available when we go on your website. I searched in the search bar by “Milo,” I went to the planning section of the board, of the website. So it seems like it's not intuitive, at least. Please do that for us.”
Since the meeting, the town has put the project on the landing page of its website. In fact, that's how I was able to find documents related to the project.
As of this broadcast, though Phoebe, the documents are still not available on the Chemung County IDA’s website.
PTV: So what do county and town officials say in response to those concerns from residents?
NA: Well, when I spoke with Margeson, he said the IDA has final approval, but is listening to the residents:
“The IDA also considers what the community wants to do and whether or not it's beneficial to the community or not beneficial to the community. We always take that [into] consideration.”
In 2023, a proposed truck stop/travel plaza on the same plot of land was heavily protested for similar reasons, and ultimately the project was not successful in that spot.
Big Flats Town Supervisor Lee Giammichele said last week during the town meeting that, no matter the concerns of the residents, the town has no power to stop the project legally:
“A special use permit is a tool that allows the town to put reasonable conditions onto a project. The town board cannot deny a project just because the citizens oppose it. The town board would need to have [a] legal basis tied to the code.”
PTV: What exactly does that mean?
NA: Well, for example, the town cannot deny a special use permit because it wants to. There have to be mitigating circumstances that show noncompliance with conditions set by the Big Flats Planning Board.
The planning board imposed conditions that Amazon needed to meet in order to send the project to the town board for special use permit approval, which is exactly what happened last week.
Amazon met all those conditions and the town board approved the special use permit. It was the last step in all of the approvals according to town officials.
PTV: So what are the next steps in this process then?
NA: Well, according to Margeson, the IDA is waiting for legal review and whether or not Amazon decides to sign on the dotted line and purchase the property and build.
Margeson says the IDA still has to approve the sale or deny it.
NA: What questions do you still have about this project?
PTV: So there are hundreds of documents to review. There has been extensive planning on the part of Amazon, the IDA and the town of Big Flats. But some of the things I'd like to know are: how much will the town receive in tax revenue if Amazon builds? And can this proposed warehouse and can the land be used for any purpose once Amazon owns it? For example, maybe nothing's ever built, or it sits empty after it is built, or now that it's owned by a private company, can it be turned into something else, like an AI data center or an immigration detention center?
Margeson says the IDA will listen to the residents about concerns over Sperr Park, but the project has already been approved by all these entities. The first time residents spoke out and on the record was last week during the town board meeting, because many residents didn't know this project existed.
Records show that correspondence began in November with the town planning board, while IDA meeting minutes show this project was discussed last summer in a resolution. And a New York City firm produced a storm pollution prevention plan for this exact project as early as January 2025.
PTV: Well, it sounds like there's still a lot of reporting to be done. I am sure you will keep digging into this. Natalie, thank you so much for being here and explaining all of this.
NA: Thank you, Phoebe.