HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- More than 1,000 new jobs will be coming to Henrico County thanks to a state-of-the-art robotics fulfillment center.

Governor Ralph Northam announced on Wednesday that Amazon is going to invest in the launch of the facility on 119 acres near the Richmond Raceway.

According to a release, the company will build a multi-story, 650,000-square-foot facility that will add more than 1,000 new jobs to Amazon’s existing workforce of more than 27,000 in Virginia.

This fulfillment center will be the first of its kind in Central Virginia and is expected to be built by 2022.

“Amazon continues to demonstrate confidence in Virginia by expanding and reinvesting in our Commonwealth,” said Northam. “This new robotics fulfillment center in Henrico County is the latest milestone in the growing partnership between Amazon and Virginia, and reinforces our standing as both a technology hub and a leader in supply chain management. As we work to rebound from the impacts of the pandemic, we are grateful for Amazon’s commitment to supporting our communities and providing jobs to thousands of Virginians.”

Amazon launched its first fulfillment operation in Virginia in 2006, and has more than 10 fulfillment and sortation centers and delivery stations in the Commonwealth. The company also have 13 Whole Foods Market location and three Prime Now Hubs.

“Virginia is uniquely positioned to provide Amazon with unparalleled access to national and global markets, as evidenced by the company’s state-of-the-art fulfillment centers across the Commonwealth,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball. “Our transportation and logistics infrastructure provides businesses direct connectivity for distribution, one of many advantages Virginia boasts in the supply chain industry. We are proud to be home to much of Amazon’s continued growth, and we thank the company for its additional investment in the Commonwealth.”

The release says Amazon’s investments have contributed $17.5 billion to Virginia’s economy since 2010, as well as helped create more than 52,00 indirect jobs on top of the company’s direct hires.

Additionally, more than 48,000 independent authors and small and medium businesses in the Commonwealth use Amazon’s store to sell their goods.

The release says Amazon gives employees a starting wage of $15 an hour and offers full-time employees benefits including health, vision and dental insurance, a retirement program, up to 20 weeks of paid parental leave, and more.

Employees can also take advantage of the Career Choice program that pre-pays 95 percent of tuition for courses in high-demand fields, and more than 1,600 Virginia employees have worked toward degrees in game design, nursing, IT programming and others.