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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The Dirt: Company purchases land for possible Amazon expansion

Spokane County is considering a request by the Spokane Airport Board to sell three parcels that could include an expansion of Amazon facilities near the airport and a separate project that would build a truck plaza near the Geiger Interchange.

Larry Krauter, CEO of Spokane International Airport, told Spokane County Commissioners in a March 13 meeting that he is seeking approval for the sale of surplus airport property.

He explained that since 2014, the Spokane Airport Board, with approval from the city and county, has sold several acres for a variety of uses. The pending sales would be the 11th and 12th such transactions.

The first sale would include about 4 acres of land just west of the intersection of Hayford and McFarlane roads. The proposed buyer is AT Acquisitions LLC, which has in the past purchased property that later accommodated facilities for Amazon.

“This would be the third transaction to AT Acquisitions,” Krauter said at the meeting. He said plans include a new warehouse.

The previous sale to AT Acquisitions included property referred to as McFarlane 1.0, which became a large last-mile facility for Amazon.

“They are currently building another facility on what we call McFarlane 2.0, which is land that was previously sold,” Krauter said.

AT Acquisitions has agreed to purchase a 4-acre parcel adjacent to the existing Amazon property and a 12-acre parcel that is located on the east side of the McFarlane 2.0 property, he said. The sale is for a total of $1.15 million.

West Plains truck plaza

As part of the same proposal, Krauter is requesting approval to sell about 12 acres at 6801 Flightline Blvd.

The property is bordered by Flightline Boulevard and West Pilot Drive, with frontage along South Geiger Boulevard, Krauter said.

The purchase agreement is with Peter Rusnak, the president and CEO of King Beverage Inc, who in 2021 bought about 20 acres at the northwest corner of Geiger and Flightline from the Airport Board for a new distribution facility.

Krauter said Rusnak agreed to purchase the 12 acres for $2.47 million and plans to develop a truck plaza at the site. Efforts to reach Rusnak were unsuccessful.

A truck plaza in the area “is really needed,” Krauter said. “There is a statewide shortage of truck parking. So, having truck plaza services in relation to all of the development that is going on in and round the airport is actually really important.”

Plans include a convenience store, a truck-washing facility, overnight parking, guest rooms, showers and a retail food and beverage location.

Todd Woodard, Spokane International Airport’s director of marketing and public affairs, said Krauter will brief the Spokane City Council on Monday on the sale requests. On Tuesday, the sale requests will go before the Spokane County Commission for consideration.

West Plains medical office

Deer Heights LLC has obtained a building permit from the city of Spokane to build a 7,800-square-foot medical office building at 9834 W. U.S. Highway 2 near Airway Heights.

The office would be built on vacant land next to the existing Mod Pizza at 9746 W. U.S. Highway 2 and just south of the new North 40 Outfitters location.

Applicant and architect Paul Harrington said the hope is to start construction of the office, which will be used as a primary care clinic, in May.

“I think we are hoping to take occupancy in nine months,” he said.

Kuney Construction, of Spokane, is listed as the contractor for the one-story building, which is expected to cost about $1.25 million, according to planning documents.