BATON ROUGE — The grand opening of the Amazon Fulfillment Center at the former site of Cortana Mall is approaching and jobs for the facility will become available starting Friday, a city councilman said.

Anywhere from 1,900 and 2,500 jobs will be available starting at $16.50 an hour, Cleve Dunn Jr. said. Dunn's District 6 includes the facility, which is set to open sometime in mid-2024.

The $200 million facility has been long gestating. WBRZ first reported on the facility in 2019. Since then, it has faced some construction setbacks, originally set for a December 2022 opening.

Local businesses were, however, pleased with the prospect of Amazon bringing new life to the area.

The city attracted Amazon with the PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, program, in the form of a 10-year exemption on property taxes, WBRZ reported in 2022.

Interested applicants can apply here.