North40 Outfitters construction begins in Airway Heights

AIRWAY HEIGHTS-Residents needing farming, sporting and agricultural goods may be anticipating the arrival of the 95,000 square foot, 16-acre North 40 Outfitters location just east of the city limits off Highway 2 and Deer Heights Road.

Construction began on the popular farm, ranch and outdoor company going in just north of Spokane International Airport at the end of August.

"Full lines of feed, tack, animal health, fencing, hardware, tools, plumbing, electrical and automotive will be available for the farmer, rancher or homeowner," the company said in a press release. "Seasonal lawn and garden and power equipment will add to the mix, along with full lines of men's and women's work and outdoor clothing and footwear."

In addition to farm and ranching goods, the Airway Heights store will have a 20-yard indoor archery range as part of a full-service archery shop. That will compliment a sporting goods section that primarily focuses on outdoor activities like hunting, fishing and camping.

"Our store on Trent doesn't have a very wide selection of sporting goods," North 40 marketing director Denise Schnider said. "So bringing that into the Spokane area (is) exciting for us, to be able to showcase those products in Spokane."

The Airway Heights location is the third in the Spokane metro area, adding to locations in Mead and off East Trent Avenue in Millwood. The company is based in Great Falls, Montana and was established in 1997. It has 11 active locations in Washington, Idaho and Montana.

Schnider said the company saw an opportunity to continue reaching the Spokane market with the Highway 2 development.

"We felt that we could add to the growth the area is having," Schnider said.

The building crew has a local tie. The steel building is utilizing materials from Garco Building Systems, a manufacturing company based in Airway Heights.

The general contractor is Young Construction Group out of Hayden, Idaho, while architect services are coming from H2A Architects of Coeur d'Alene.

North 40 is giving a broad estimate of construction completion, which could range from 12-18 months, leaving the store's tentative opening for the end of 2021.

"We put subject to change, because of weather," Schinder said. "It depends on what type of season we see over winter and how much progress we can make in that time frame."

The project cost $6.5 million, according to an Oct. 19, 2019 article in the Spokesman-Review.

Drew Lawson can be reached at [email protected].