ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Amazon.com, the world’s biggest online retailer, announced Tuesday it has picked a site just outside Trenton for a planned distribution center that’s expected to create hundreds of jobs.

Amazon employees will pick, pack and ship items for customers at the 1-million-square-foot center in Robbinsville, which the company plans to occupy in early 2014.

As part of a deal with the state, the retailer will be eligible for state economic assistance grants totaling millions of dollars on its investment, which is expected to exceed $200 million.

Amazon has previously agreed to collect 7 percent sales taxes on purchases made in New Jersey starting sometime in 2013 though it wasn’t clear Tuesday whether that timing had changed or not. Officials estimated that would bring the state an estimated $30 million to $40 million a year in new revenue.

The company announced last year that it would build two warehouses in New Jersey. It did not say anything Tuesday about its plans for a second center or where it would be located.

The retailer made the announcement in a joint statement with Gov. Chris Christie on the day of his State of the State address.

The governor has faced criticism over the slow pace of the economic recovery in New Jersey, including the state’s high unemployment rate, which at 9.6 percent in November remained nearly 2 percentage points higher than the national rate.

Christie said the company’s decision “represents the strength of our successful partnership with Amazon” and will result in the creation of both full-time jobs and temporary seasonal and construction jobs.

KTR Capital Partners, a private equity firm, is building the center with Amazon, the company said.

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