Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. announced plans to construct a distribution center in Goodyear, Ariz., that will service the western United States and is expected to bring approximately 120 jobs to the area when business opens in early 2013. Local real estate agencies announced the deal last week.
The distribution center will be designed to ultimately support approximately 160 stores as Dick's Sporting Goods grows its store base in the western United States over the next 5-10 years and is eventually expected to employ up to 300 associates.
Spanning 600,000-square feet and stretching across more than 50 acres, the Goodyear operation will reside at 4651 N. Cotton Lane at the confluence of Interstate 10 and Loop 303 as an anchor tenant in the master planned 1,600-acre PV303 business park.
“We are extremely pleased to announce our plan to build and open a distribution center in the City of Goodyear, Ariz., and further our commitment to the overall strategic growth of the organization,” said Lee Belitsky, Senior Vice President at Dick's Sporting Goods. “This distribution center, our fourth nationally, is a positive step in the expansion of the Dick's Sporting Goods footprint in the western United States. We're excited to establish deep roots in the greater Goodyear community and help play an important role in the active daily lives of the people who live, work and visit here.”
After exploring several location options in the western United States, Arizona and the City of Goodyear was chosen by Dick's Sporting Goods for the business friendly environment, the quality and reliability of the workforce, and the support of Mayor Georgia Lord and the Goodyear City Council.
“A perfect fit for our Palm Valley 303 business park and its foreign trade zone, Dick's west coast distribution center will not only generate jobs to help pay mortgages in Goodyear households but will also be a development catalyst by bringing needed infrastructure to the area,” said Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord. “We recognized from the outset that Dick's Sporting Goods would be a quality company to have in our corporate family and we welcome them into our community.”
Construction on the approximately $40 million distribution center is scheduled to commence in December 2011 and conclude early in the first quarter of 2013. The building phase is expected to bring more than 375 temporary construction jobs to the area. An additional $18-20 million in capital investment in technology and automation equipment is expected to be injected into the project's development prior to opening.
Additionally, Dick's Sporting Goods is pursuing LEED certification for the facility with plans to incorporate sustainable components such as high efficiency lighting and HVAC, recycled and environmentally-friendly construction materials, energy management systems and recycling programs for corrugate and plastics.
Kris Bjorson of Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle was the lead broker on the deal. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Merit Partners, Inc. is serving as the development agent for Dick's Sporting Goods, while Butler Design Group of Phoenix is the project's lead architect.
The general contracting is being managed by Renaissance Companies of Scottsdale and Atlanta area-based Johnson Stephens Consulting is the Material Handling Equipment and Operational design and engineering partner.
Dick's Sporting Goods currently has six stores in Arizona, including Gilbert, Glendale, Mesa, Phoenix, Tempe and Oro Valley, outside of Tucson.
