TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Leon County is moving forward with plans to appeal to an unknown big-name company with sights for potentially building a fulfillment center in Tallahassee.
"Project Mango" came up for discussion at the Application Review Meeting Wednesday. The purpose of that meeting focused on addressing any existing concerns and questions on the city and county's behalf regarding the most recent site plans and studies for the project.
Multiple people spoke up at the meeting to address concerns. Many people who live close to the proposal say they have three main concerns: traffic impacts, light pollution and noise pollution.
"Our major concern is the intersection of Vineland Drive and Mahan," said one neighbor.
Most say they were surprised to find a traffic study was conducted last year. In preparation for Wednesday's meeting, Jason Lewis and the team working to bring Project Mango to life completed a traffic study, a light study, and a noise study in December.
"As part of the sound study, we went out to the site and studied the background noise. Our proposed activity is actually less than the existing background noise," said Lewis.
Due to a confidentiality request, details about "Project Mango" are few, but we do know the project began just over a year ago.
The proposed warehouse could be built on Mahan Drive near I-10.
Despite all of the work put in locally, the company behind Project Mango is still weighing its options and could decide to build elsewhere.
Regardless, at Wednesday's Application Review Meeting, the team fine-tuned the plan presented.
The next step is the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency Thursday. IA will approve the incentive package sent to them Monday by the Office of Economic Vitality. That package would secure funding for a recruitment investment for jobs at the fulfillment center.
Site plans regarding the construction side of things move to the Development Review Committee. That meeting is scheduled for June 16. The final step in the process is final approval from Leon County Commissioners, which is scheduled for July.
