Permits show Amazon distribution center coming to Venice

VENICE, Fla. - What's coming to a currently empty lot has Venice and Sarasota County talking. 

"The buzz is excitement, can it happen," said Kathy Lehner. 

Kathy Lehner the President & CEO of the Venice Area Chamber of Commerce said the calls have been coming in. 

County permits show Amazon has taken a bite out of the "shark tooth capital of the world." 

They're working to set up shop in South Sarasota County. 

"People are always worried about the uncertainty of what’s going to happen,” said Lehner. “We won’t know till it does. Till they are here and we see what they are going to do, we may be pleasantly surprised." 

On Dec.16, Sarasota County said they gave the go-ahead for construction to start here on the site and project that’s called Venice last mile. 

The permit was filed by RYAN Companies US. 

They're a group that's built several other Amazon sites in the past. 

This permit specifically states an "Amazon distribution center." 

It'll be housed off Commerce Drive right next to I-75 and Jacaranda Boulevard. 

"It's perfectly located, the central part of our county right next to I-75, none of these trucks are going through residential areas or anything like that, so this is exciting to see that they picked this area," said Commissioner Charles Hines. 

Sarasota County Commissioner Charles Hines said it's a perfect spot. 

"This was planned a long time ago as a major employment center in our future employment center," Hines said. 

Others are already thinking about the bacon it would bring in. 

"Our philosophy has always been business begets business," said Michael Bacon, Venice-based Brewburgers owner. 

They sit right down the road from the site, Bacon said, “Bring on the business.” 

"There's a lot of empty space and anything that creates excitement about that area creates excitement for Venice and in turn brings more people to the area and hopefully more jobs to the area," he said. 

FOX 13 did reach out to Amazon. 

They would not comment about this site but said, "We are constantly exploring new locations and weighing a variety of factors when deciding where to develop sites to best serve customers, however, we don't provide information on our future roadmap."