Amazon withdraws plans for delivery station, warehouse at former Lowe’s site in North Spokane

Amazon is no longer pursuing plans to open a last-mile delivery station and warehouse in North Spokane, the company confirmed Tuesday.

The Seattle-based e-commerce company withdrew a conditional use permit application to convert the former Lowe’s Home Improvement building at 6902 N. Division St. into a 117,000-square-foot delivery station, according to the city’s website.

“We have decided not to pursue this location due to operational constraints, although we continue to explore opportunities to invest and grow across the region and Washington state,” Amazon spokeswoman Karen Riley Sawyer said in an email.

“We appreciate the time and attention committed to this potential project by the City of Spokane and we look forward to our continued work together.”

Amazon is constantly exploring new locations and weighs a variety of factors when deciding where to develop future sites to best serve customers.

It’s common for the company to explore multiple locations simultaneously and make adjustments based on needs across the network, Riley Sawyer added.

Amazon filed a preliminary application with the city last August for the $15 million project, which was anticipated to employ more than 200 people, according to project documents.

The project – in addition to redevelopment of the former Lowe’s building – called for a loading dock and a new parking lot with 74 spaces for fleet vehicles, 117 employee parking spaces and van-queuing area.

Developers also proposed plans to convert a 4-acre site near the delivery station at 6720 N. Division St. into a fleet van parking lot.

Amazon’s delivery stations prepare customer orders for “last-mile delivery” to customers.

The city issued a building permit to demolish the interior of the former Lowe’s store in January to make way for the delivery station.

Because of the project’s size, a public meeting was required with the city’s hearing examiner to change the use of the site from commercial to warehouse and freight movement.

Spokane developer Harlan Douglass is the property owner.

The former Lowe’s property has been relisted for lease by NAI Black.

NAI Black Managing Broker Chris Bell told the Spokane Journal of Business earlier this month that the city took too long to hold a conditional use permit hearing and the undisclosed tenant pulled out of the project.

Amazon’s name had not been attached to the project until the building permit application in January revealed the company’s involvement.

Bell did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

City staff was able to get the conditional use permit application submitted by Amazon in November to a scheduled public hearing in 104 days, which was faster than the company’s original proposed timeline, City of Spokane spokeswoman Kirstin Davis said in an email.

“There was one hiccup in the process – staff originally had the hearing scheduled for late January. Based on some outdated language in one of our letter templates, the project manager had the public notice sign removed from the property prior to the hearing,” Davis wrote in an email.

“Despite staff’s analysis and city legal’s determination that the original posting met the (Spokane Municipal Code) requirements,” Davis continued, “the hearing examiner made a determination that proper notice had not been given and required that the applicant re-notice for the hearing.”

City staff worked with the hearing examiner and Amazon to get the soonest available hearing time, but the project manager told the city a few days before the next scheduled hearing that the company decided not to move forward with the site because it “did not like the fact that the employee parking was located on a separate parcel a block away from the main facility.”

The separate parking lot was part of the development proposal and not a requirement of the city, Davis added.

Although Amazon has withdrawn its application for the delivery center, the company continues expanding in the region.

Last week, Amazon confirmed it will be leasing an air cargo facility at Spokane International Airport.

West Plains development agency S3R3 Solutions is partnering with the airport to develop a 30,750-square-foot facility and sublease it to Amazon Air, which plays a critical role in transporting items across longer distances in shorter timeframes.

The air cargo facility will be used to transfer parcels from trucks to Amazon Air – or vice versa – for transport between the company’s West Plains fulfillment center and other fulfillment centers nationwide.

Construction is also underway for Amazon’s 1.3-million-square-foot fulfillment center in Spokane Valley. When complete later this year, the nonsortable fulfillment center at 18007 E. Garland Ave. will employ more than 1,000 people, some of whom will pick, pack and ship large items, such as patio furniture, outdoor equipment and rugs.

Amazon opened its West Plains fulfillment center last year at 10010 W. Geiger Blvd.

The company is estimated to employ nearly 5,000 people between its two fulfillment centers, making it the second-largest private employer and fourth-largest employer in Spokane County.