Home Depot, Amazon take aim at delivery times with urban warehouse

SEATTLE — Amazon and Home Depot have inked leases for a three-storey warehouse in Seattle, the first of its kind in the U.S., according to the Wall Street Journal. The facility, a common setup in Europe and Asia but rare in North America due to land costs, would allow the companies to reduce delivery times by bringing distribution closer to customers. “You have to go vertical because you can’t find a 50-acre space in the middle of a city close to the customer,” said Hamid Moghadam, CEO of Prologis, which owns the Seattle building. Currently, at least three multi-storey warehouses are in the works for New York City.