Hundreds of new jobs expected as Amazon expansion in region continues with plans for Airway Heights delivery station

Amazon is continuing its rapid expansion in the Spokane area with plans for a new delivery station in Airway Heights.

Amazon Logistics will open the facility at 11901 W. McFarlane Road in the fall. The new station will create “hundreds of full and part-time associate jobs,” starting at $15 an hour with benefits. It will also offer driver opportunities through Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners and Amazon Flex, according to a company news release.

“We are excited that Amazon is expanding its footprint in Spokane County,” Spokane County Commissioner Al French said in a statement. “This new Amazon Delivery Station will bring hundreds of additional jobs, revenue and growth to the County during a critical time when many have experienced job loss due to the pandemic.”

The delivery station’s address is linked to the site of a 187,000-square-foot warehouse that is under construction in the West McFarlane Business Park. Local real estate company AT Industrial told The Spokesman-Review in June it was developing the West McFarlane Business Park to meet demand for e-commerce distribution.

Amazon has more than 250 delivery stations nationwide that prepare customer orders for “last-mile” delivery.

Packages are shipped to Amazon’s delivery stations from the company’s fulfillment and sorting centers, then loaded into delivery vehicles and delivered to customers.

The Seattle-based e-commerce company had initially planned to open a last-mile delivery station in north Spokane, but withdrew the conditional use permit application for the project last month, citing “operational constraints.”

Amazon’s proposed delivery station on the West Plains is the company’s most recent development in the Spokane region.

Amazon confirmed in March 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 the 30,750-square-foot facility and sublease it to Amazon Air, which plays a critical role in transporting items across longer distances in shorter time frames.

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 across the country.

Additionally, construction is underway for Amazon’s 1.3-million-square-foot fulfillment center in Spokane Valley. When completed 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 also opened what the company calls an AMXL delivery station and Amazon Hub Locker+ location at 2700 E. Ferry Ave. in the Playfair Commerce Park. The two sites have created dozens of full- and part-time jobs, according to the company.

“We are excited to continue our investment in the state of Washington,” Amazon spokeswoman Karen Riley-Sawyer said in a statement. “Amazon has long provided delivery of large products such as televisions and couches, and we’re excited to continue expanding this offering to customers in the Spokane metro area.

“Amazon Hub Locker+ gives customers another convenient location to pick up their packages should they not have a secure location to receive deliveries.”

Amazon opened its West Plains fulfillment center at 10010 W. Geiger Blvd. in June.