Amazon builds property empire, quietly buying land across the US

An Amazon signage is seen on the LDJ5 Amazon Sort Center in New York City. Amazon plans to use much of the real estate it purchased for a new generation of towering fulfillment centers that can store a wide variety of products close to customers in populous areas, according to people familiar with the strategy. — AFP

The 193 acres just outside Round Rock, Texas, were coveted by some of the biggest developers in the US. Located a few miles north of the booming city of Austin, the raw parcel could be used for virtually anything given the state’s lenient land-use laws.

So when the prominent Robinson family put the property on the market last year, there was strong interest from a range of real estate players, including home builders, private equity giant Blackstone Inc and Prologis Inc, an industrial landlord that rents out warehouses across the country. But when the successful bidder emerged in October, it wasn’t a real estate firm. It was the world’s largest ecommerce company: Amazon.com Inc.