Gensco has applied for $4.95 million permit for new warehouse, showroom

A wholesale and regional distributor of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment plans to build a new 53,735-square-foot warehouse in Kennewick.

The new building will be on three acres just off Deschutes Avenue at 314 N. Wilson Place.

Vandervert Construction of Spokane has been hired to complete the $4.95 million project, and work is set to begin in early 2018.

A permit filed Nov. 8 with the city of Kennewick indicates the building will include a 3,000-square-foot showroom for a total building square footage of 56,662.

Knutzen Engineering and Wave Design Group, both of Kennewick, also will be working on the project, according to the permit.

Gensco, which is headquartered in Tacoma, opened in Kennewick in 1994. The warehouse at 6425 W. John Day Ave. is 22,000 square feet.

Gensco started in 1947 after Gene Walters noticed HVAC contractors were being underserved in the south Puget Sound area, according to the company’s website.

Before opening his first location, Walters would fill his station wagon with inventory he picked up in Seattle, then drive to Tacoma to sell items out of the trunk of his car.

Today, the company employs 600 people at 24 branches across five states, which include Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Washington. Half of the branches are in Washington, and the nearest location outside of Kennewick is in Yakima.

The Register-Guard newspaper reported Gensco’s plans in 2016 to build a 32,000-square-foot warehouse valued at $3 million in Eugene, Oregon.

Along with the distribution of HVAC equipment and supplies, Gensco manufactures sheet metal products sold under the Columbia brand name. Some of the well-known brand names it carries include Trane, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating, American Standard and Honeywell.