Rain will delay opening of Amazon.com facility

PATTERSON -- Last month's rainfall came at an inconvenient time for builders on the Amazon.com distribution center project. Mayor Luis Molina said muddy conditions have caused a delay in the opening of the 1 million-square-foot center, from spring to summer.

"We were originally looking at the second quarter of 2013, which would be right around April," Molina said. "Now, with setbacks, it's looking more like July potentially."

The delay hasn't dampened enthusiasm for the project, or efforts to help residents get the hundreds of jobs planned at Amazon.

Originally billed as "Project X," city officials had predicted that it would bring more than 1,000 jobs to the area.

But a news release issued by the governor's office of business and economic development late last year referred to 350 jobs coming to Patterson.