JACKSON TWP — Work will begin soon on a new FedEx regional distribution center, which is expected to create more than 500 jobs.

The township supervisors Thursday night approved the plans for development of the Sippel Development Commerce Park off Tomlinson Drive.

The plans call for a 305,540-square-foot warehouse with a 5,180-foot garage and 642 parking spaces to be built on 68 acres of mostly undeveloped land.

Doug Sippel, president of Sippel Development, said work will begin immediately on preparing the site.

“We’re thrilled,” he said about the approval and the arrangement with FedEx to lease the building.

Construction of the building’s foundation is planned for March, and the facility is expected to be open by June 2016, Sippel said.

The developer also plans to extend Tomlinson Drive further onto the property and have sewer lines hooked up.

Supervisor Chairman Ron Lutz said development will be good for the township because it will bring additional tax revenue and create jobs.

“These are full-time jobs where people can make a living and people can get benefits,” Lutz said.

With the location of the warehouse, which is less than 1 mile from the Route 528 interchange with Interstate 79, the impact on residents will be limited, he said.

“It will bring additional traffic, but it’s not passing through on the township roads, it’s just right there,” he said.

The warehouse, and its potential job creation, was a factor in the township’s recent award of a $1.5 million grant from the state Multimodal Transportation Fund, according to township manager Chris Rearick.

The grant, and a 30 percent local match, will be used to improve the intersection of Route 528 with Tomlinson Drive and Jo Deener Road.

When completed, the two roads will be relocated to form a four-way intersection with Route 528 that will include a stoplight. It also will improve the flow of traffic from new commercial and residential developments.

The Sippel development alone will bring in a $442,000 impact fee to the township under the township’s interim impact fee structure. That money will be put toward the intersection project, Rearick said.

Sippel said he expects the intersection to be completed by 2016 since it is required for FedEx to begin operating.