FedEx negotiates deal to increase presence at Alaska airport

FedEx is planning an expansion that could increase its overnight capacity in a place known for its midnight sun.

The State of Alaska, the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport proposed a land lease with FedEx Corp., according to a State public notice.

The lease is for 1.1 million square feet at the airport with a rental rate of $0.18 per square foot. The 30-year lease would have two, 10-year options to extend. The proposed value of the investment was listed at $57 million.

Under the proposed authorized uses the notice states:
“Develop, construct, operate and maintain an approximate 98,000 sq. ft. Domestic Operations Center, infrastructure and improvements to support applicant’s warehouse operations to include administrative offices and aircraft and vehicle parking.”

According to FedEx’s most recent 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, FedEx Express currently leases 64 acres at the Anchorage airport from the State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. It occupies 332,000 square feet of space and has the capacity to sort 25,000 documents/packages per hour. That lease runs through 2023.

FedEx’s uses Anchorage to handle international express packages and freight shipments to and from Asia, Europe, and North America.

When asked about the expansion, Sederia Gray with FedEx’s Global Media Relations team provided the following statement:

“As a matter of corporate policy, we do not publicly disclose information about planned projects until agreements are finalized.”

FedEx recently announced an additional $450 million investment at the Memphis World Hub at Memphis International Airport, bringing that modernization total to $1.5 billion. Those updates are projected to be finished in 2025.

(Meagan Nichols - Memphis Business Journal)