Work continues on Amazon's million-square-foot distribution center near I-77 and 12th Street near Cayce.

By LINDSEY JOHNS

Amazon execs met with local officials on Monday to give the people an update on the progress of its new distribution center being built near Cayce.

We just couldn’t help but notice the prison-like look of the new million-square-foot building.

Few windows, gray stone walls and an overall eerie look about the place has us seeing doom and gloom.

But, Amazon officials have some bright, happy news coming out of that lackluster construction site, according to a report by The State.

They’ve announced an opening date of Sept. 30. Currently, equipment such as shelves and storage bins for merchandise are being installed, plant manager John Petta said. It’s received more than 9,000 applications from job-seekers and has already hired between 400-500 permanent employees, according to Petta.

This news is a pleasant surprise given that construction was halted for a month as law makers debated about the tax exemption.

“That stop and start created some significant delays, but everybody has stepped up and closed the gap as much as possible,” Petta said.

More than 100 local vendors showed up on Monday to register with Amazon to supply services.

Debbie Thomas of Minute-Man Press was there. “There are a lot of things like employee handbooks and newsletters that I would love to be a part of handling,” she said. “This is my chance to let them know that.”

So was Kim Groh-Bryan, co-owner of PlumbKrazy. “We’d like to get a piece of the pie,” she said.

We’d just like to see a more optimistic construction design.