Developer with ties to Tesla planning electric vehicle sales, maintenance facility in Liberty Lake
A real estate development company with ties to Tesla Inc. is planning to build an electric car sales and maintenance facility in Liberty Lake.
Denver-based Drake Real Estate Services, which has previously partnered with Tesla for electric vehicle projects, filed plans with the city of Liberty Lake to build a 32,400-square-foot facility to “include sales, service, maintenance, charging, storage, and delivery of new and preowned electric automobiles” at 1805 N. Pepper Lane.
A conceptual site plan shows the facility will also have 185 parking spaces and 25 electric vehicle charging stations, some of which will be facing Mission Avenue.
The facility could include up to 280 charging, display, parking and storage stalls site, which is larger than five acres, according to an environmental review for the project.
A company name was not attached to the project in Liberty Lake. Drake Real Estate Services, however, submitted a preliminary application with the city of Vancouver, Washington, earlier this month for a similar-sized electric vehicle service center in which project renderings showed what appeared to be Tesla vehicles parked in front of the facility, The Columbian reported.
Drake Real Estate Services was also involved in the development of Tesla’s first automotive sales and service facility in Colorado, according to Maxwell Builders, a Colorado-based firm that built the facility. Drake Real Estate Services Managing Partner Jon Hauser declined to comment on additional details for the project, citing a nondisclosure agreement. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on whether it was considering an electric car sales and maintenance facility in Liberty Lake.
Developers are estimated to break ground on the electric vehicle facility in July with completion scheduled by March . The facility, when complete, will employ 50 people, according to the environmental review.
Tesla opened its first service center in Spokane last year at 3304 E. Springfield Ave. The Palo Alto, California-based electric vehicle and clean energy company operates seven stores and service centers in the state.my Edelen can be reached at (509) 459-5581 or at amye@spokesman.com.