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Amazon plans to build another facility in Pasco – one that’s expected to open later this year and bring more than 150 new full- and part-time jobs to the area.
The “last-mile” facility – where workers will prepare customer orders for delivery – is set for land off North Capitol Avenue. A building permit puts the project value at $11.8 million.
Meanwhile, Amazon also plans to open a new “receive center” in Pasco sometime this summer. That facility will bring more than 1,500 new jobs once it’s fully operational, Amazon said in a statement. The building already is constructed, although a permit for $10 million in tenant improvements was issued in January.
As plans for opening the two facilities move forward, Amazon has posted several Pasco management-level positions on its job site.
The receive center is on a 162-acre property off of South Road 40 East, near Sacajawea Historical State Park. It will “receive and consolidate products from vendors, enabling bulk shipments of inventory into Amazon’s Fulfillment Center network,” Amazon said.
It’s one of two existing facilities built for Amazon on either side of South Road 40 East; the company hasn’t announced plans for the other building.
The last-mile facility will be on 25 acres in the Port of Pasco’s 93-acre Pasco Industrial Center 395, or PIC395. Port commissioners approved a $3.75 million purchase and sale agreement with APG Land Acquisitions LLC for the site last year.
APG works with Amazon, which wasn’t initially named as the future occupant. The pact has since been amended to include the company.
The deal closed in late February.
“The port is excited that Amazon will be investing even more into the Tri-Cities community. Our PIC395 property along Highway 395 will be a great complement to their larger Pasco warehouses and will help them achieve their goal of two-day delivery,” Port of Pasco Commission President Jean Ryckman said in a statement.
The last-mile facility will be 90,000-plus square feet. Amazon said that launch plans are in the early stages, but the facility is expected to open later this year.
“Amazon is excited to partner with the Port of Pasco on several projects that will deliver for our customers in the Tri-Cities area,” said Easton Craft, Northwest regional manager for worldwide economic development for Amazon, in a statement.
“These facilities will also provide jobs with competitive pay and great benefits, including free upskilling opportunities for Amazon associates,” he said.
In the statement about its Pasco plans, Amazon sought to highlight its employee benefits and job creation. Jobs in the Amazon operations network include stowing, picking, packing, sorting, shipping customer orders and more, with employees earning $17 to $28 an hour, depending on the position and location, the statement said.
Benefits include career advancement opportunities; health, vision and dental insurance from the first day of work; a 401(k) with company match; paid pregnancy and parental leave; mental health and financial services and support; and more, Amazon said.
Amazon touted its economic impact in Washington, the state where it got its start.
The company has invested $225.7 billion there since 2010, including infrastructure and employee pay, and it’s created more than 90,000 direct jobs, the statement said.
“These investments support an additional 487,200 indirect jobs across the state, in fields like construction and professional services, and have contributed more than $205 billion to the Washington GDP, on top of the company’s direct investments,” the statement said.
“In the last decade, no other private company has created more jobs than Amazon. And Amazon continues to create jobs for people of all backgrounds and experience levels,” the statement said.