Airway Heights’ Exotic Metals Forming Company is set to triple its current facility’s footprint and hire more than 150 additional employees sometime in the next year, according to State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) documents filed with Spokane County in late December 2018.
The addition is planned for a land parcel west and adjacent to the company’s main location at 12821 W. McFarlane Road in Airway Heights. Exotic Metals purchased 56.6 acres of property within city limits in 2014, where their existing 150,000 square foot facility was built.
City documents note that future development and additional square footage was identified as a possibility at the time of purchase.
According to SEPA documents, the expansion project will be conducted in two phases.
The first phase will construct a new 150,000 square foot manufacturing building on the northwest portion of the property, complete with a filtered spray paint and coatings booth, employee parking, new utility services, stormwater management and landscaping. The second phase will mirror Phase 1 in the southern portion of the property with future development dates to be determined.
About 25 acres of Idaho fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass, sagebrush and intermittent ponderosa pines will need to be removed to make way for the expansion, though native plants will eventually be used for landscaping. No threatened or endangered species are known to be on or near the site, according to SEPA documents.
The project will be reviewed by the city of Airway Heights and local airports to ensure it does not present a safety hazard, interfere with views or result in glare impacts to aircraft.
SEPA documents show that Exotic Metals officials anticipate 100-150 additional vehicular trips per day, with a morning peak around 6 a.m. and an afternoon peak from 3:15 – 3:45 p.m.
Both phases are set to be accompanied by the employment of at least 150 people per phase.
A construction date has yet to be announced, though SEPA documents indicated Phase 1 construction could start as early as the beginning of 2019 and be completed in 2020. No dates have been set for the implementation of Phase 2.
A representative from Exotic Metals could not be reached for comment.
Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)