Tri-Cities GrowthWednesday, November 4
Amazon is the buyer behind West Richland's $264 million data center plan
The Daily Kennewick team
If you live near Ruppert Road, here's who's behind the plan: Amazon Web Services confirmed Monday that it's the actual buyer in the $264 million deal for West Richland's Lewis & Clark Ranch. Trammell Crow Co. bought nearly 1,000 acres from the estate of Frank Tiegs in July.
- Size: three buildings first, up to 21 later
- Jobs: 120 to 150 at first, 1,000 at full scale
- Open house: 5-8 p.m. Thu., Nov. 19, 5200 Paradise Way
- Paperwork: no site plan filed yet; SEPA review applies
About 200 homes sit across Ruppert Road, and residents have pushed back. The city council was set to consider interim data center rules Tuesday night that would run up to six months, bar data centers from Light Industrial zoning and ban crypto mining. Tri-Cities Data Center Watch calls the plan a "fake moratorium." City officials said a land purchase isn't a development approval.
The plan runs from a July land sale to a Nov. 19 open house
- JulyTrammell Crow Co. bought nearly 1,000 acres from the Tiegs estate.
- Nov. 2AWS confirmed it is the actual buyer behind the $264 million deal.
- Nov. 3West Richland City Council was set to consider interim data center rules at 6 p.m.
- Nov. 19AWS will hold a public open house, 5-8 p.m., at Enterprise Middle School.
Sources: Yakima Herald-Republic, TriYakNews.com
On water, AWS's FAQ says it will use outside air to cool the buildings 93% of the time and secure a surface water supply. It says its operations won't affect drinking water or local wells.
The full build would need 21 buildings and 70 million gallons of water a year
| First phase | Measure | Full build |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Data center buildings | 21 |
| 10 | Water, million gallons a year | 70 |
Source: Yakima Herald-Republic