Massive Amazon-like distribution facility planned in Spokane Valley
An unnamed company has filed permits to build a massive distribution facility in Spokane Valley that bears similarities to an Amazon fulfillment center.
The city earlier this week approved a grading permit for the 1.3 million-square-foot structure at 17205 E. Garland Ave.
The project is referred to as “Project Fireball – GEG2.” Amazon has been known to use code names in the design phases of its fulfillment centers, including its West Plains facility that was named “Project Rose” in its initial building permit application with Spokane County. Amazon refers to its West Plains fulfillment center as GEG1.
A foundation only permit for the project – valued at $3.6 million – is currently under review by the city.
Amazon declined to comment Thursday on whether it’s considering a distribution facility in Spokane Valley.
“We are constantly exploring new locations and weighing a variety of factors when deciding where to develop sites to best serve customers, however, we don’t provide information on our future roadmap,” Anne Laughlin, spokeswoman for Amazon, said in an email Wednesday.
Amazon has more than 175 fulfillment centers worldwide in which associates pick, pack and ship orders.
The proposed distribution center in Spokane Valley is roughly half the size of Amazon’s West Plains fulfillment center, which spans 2.6 million square feet at 10010 W. Geiger Blvd. and employs more than 2,600 workers.
Amazon has announced plans this year for fulfillment centers spanning 1.3 million square feet in University Park, Illinois, and Visalia, California.
Portland-based architecture firm McKenzie is designing the project. The firm’s portfolio includes large logistics centers, such as the 1.1 million-square-foot PDX Logistics Center in Portland and the large industrial development Speedway Commerce Center in Las Vegas.
McKenzie did not respond to a request for comment.
Project Fireball will be built on a site owned by Centennial Properties in Spokane Valley’s northeast industrial area. Centennial Properties declined to comment on the project.
Centennial Properties is a subsidiary of the Cowles Co., which publishes The Spokesman-Review.