Could Amazon be coming to Arlington? Neighbors brace for it

The possible construction of a massive distribution center could lead to the creation of thousands of jobs.

While developers did not specify which company needs the facility, neighbors said the size and scope of the project are only suited for Amazon.

Located near the Arlington Airport at 16900 51st Ave. Northeast, the facility will be 2.8 million square feet and cost more than $356 million to construct.

Renderings from the city of Arlington show that the building will be five stories high and have at least a thousand workers.

“There’s a lot of great people in these areas that are willing to work that do not want to drive down to south Snohomish County and King County,” said Arlington business owner Carlos Veliz.

Neither the real estate developer nor Amazon itself confirmed that the project would be an Amazon facility. Yet, neighbors said the plan is likely suited for Amazon.

“(Arlington) is a great place for a company to come up here and draw into the local community,” said Veliz.

Jobs and money aside, both business owners and neighbors told KIRO 7 they are worried about the impact on traffic.

“If you’re gonna build, (then) build the roads — then do your building and make the money for your pockets,” said Kathy Usher, a nearby neighbor.

“Three to 4 miles — it takes you 25 to 40 minutes at its peak time,” Veliz said, adding that he’s worried clogged traffic would impact the ability of his business to ship and receive orders in a timely manner.

A start date for construction still hasn’t been made public, but Usher won’t be sticking around for it.

Faced with possible traffic headaches in her neighborhood, she said she plans on moving to Idaho.

“I can go over there and get twice as much as what I have here,” she said.

If the facility belonged to Amazon, it would be one of the company’s biggest distribution buildings.

At nearly 3 million square feet, the building triples the size of other distribution centers.

In a statement to KIRO 7, Amazon spokesperson Anne Laughlin Carpita did not confirm or deny Amazon’s intent to build a facility in Arlington.

“Amazon is constantly exploring new locations and weighing a variety of factors when deciding where to develop sites to best serve customers, however, we don’t provide information on our future roadmap,” she said.

Cox Media Group