Amazon Traditional Non-Sort Center (RDU4)

Developed and constructed by Ryan, the new Amazon RDU4 Fayetteville, NC Traditional Non-Sort Center is our first Amazon facility of this size in the southeast region. The expansive distribution center is 1.3M square feet, took one year to complete and is located in Fayetteville’s Military Business Park, across the interstate from Fort Bragg Military Base. Employees at the center will pick, pack and ship large, bulky and other non-sortable items such as furniture, equipment and rugs. The single-story facility is constructed of load-bearing concrete wall panels, steel interior columns and steel roof framing and includes a 250,000-SF mezzanine and an office area. The center was also part of Amazon’s new embodied carbon tracking initiative, using Building Transparency’s Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3). We diligently tracked all materials used on the project while collecting data that would help Amazon understand the environmental impact of the materials used, while also creating future building goals and benchmarks in alignment with their climate pledge.

When a gas main line and flare site posed challenging for this particular site, we leveraged our experience and insight to coordinate changes with Amazon and the utility company. By moving and reorienting the facility and reconfiguring the truck court to create a landscape island over the gas main, we were able to keep the project clear of the line. Our team also worked with the gas company to move and eventually decommission the flare site. Open communication among all parties (including city, county and state officials), an early access agreement to prepare the site and early structural steel procurement enabled us to keep the project on schedule and within budget.

In a typically male-dominated industry, this project was especially unique in that it was primarily run and managed by a powerhouse of over 25 women, from the Ryan construction and development teams, Amazon’s construction and transaction managers, and the owner and escrow agent.