Amazon to Open 4th 1 MSF Fulfillment Center in Kent, Wash.

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Amazon.com’s gargantuan presence in its home state of Washington is about to get even larger. The company just announced that it will open its fourth fulfillment center in the state with the development of a 1 million-square-foot facility in Kent.

The motivation for the project is simple. “We are building the new fulfillment center to meet growing customer demand,” an Amazon.com spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive.

IDS Real Estate Group and Clarion Partners have come together in a joint venture to construct the building, which will sprout up at the intersection of 59th Place S. and S. 212th St.

The announcement of the new project comes just as Amazon.com is scheduled to swing open the doors of its third fulfillment center in Washington, a 1 million-square-foot facility in DuPont. The other two centers are located in Sumner and Bellevue.

Amazon.com is loyal to Washington, but with an entire country to serve, it continues to expand its fulfillment center footprint across the U.S. Within the last few months, the company announced plans for 1 million-square-foot facilities in Windsor, Conn., Kenosha, Wis., Baltimore, Md., and Hillsborough County and Lakeland, Fla. Additionally, California will get its fourth fulfillment center with a new 1.2 million-square-foot project in Moreno Valley.

As of the close of 2013, Amazon.com’s leased portfolio of fulfillment and data centers totals more than 48 million square feet.