No Amazon jobs in Pasco yet, but e-commerce giant still gets $3M tax bill

Amazon Inc. hasn’t delivered 1,500 warehouse jobs to Pasco but there’s a $3 million cash consolation prize in the works in the form of its 2024 property tax bill.

The Franklin County treasurer is levying a $3 million property tax on the unopen fulfillment centers Amazon built near Sacajawea State Park between 2021-2022, according to tax statements now available on the county’s website.

That’s twice the $1.4 million the Seattle e-commerce giant with more than $550 billion in revenue paid last year. The increase reflects the full value of the properties coming into the county’s tax base, according to the assessor’s office.

“It is a significant tax stream,” said Nikki Morgan, chief appraiser for Franklin County..

The 2024 bill for Amazon’s Project Pearl is $1.46 million, based on a taxable value of $199 million. The bill for Project Oyster across the street is $1.56 million, based on a tax valuation of $201 million.

Benton and Franklin counties will physically mail tax bills to property owners around Valentine’s Day. Both counties posted tax information in late January, offering a preview this month of the bills headed to Amazon and other owners of taxable property.

$250 million investment

Amazon spent almost $250 million to build the two distribution centers. Both exceed 1 million square feet and were part of the company’s pandemic-era building spree that doubled its logistics network.

Together, the two facilities were expected to support Amazon’s distribution logistics. The project anticipated 1,500 jobs and 2,800 vehicle trips per day. Instead, Amazon postponed bringing the Pasco buildings online amid a larger review of its network.

Today, tumbleweeds clog one of the main gates of the buildings that never opened and the future is unclear.

Amazon advertised a temporary staffing job in Pasco, which led to speculation the company may be finally preparing to hire workers and get started.

A spokeswoman dashed those hopes in late January, telling the Tri-City Herald last week that the job posting was unrelated and the status of the two warehouses is unchanged.

The company is noted for providing minimal comments about its properties. In early 2023, Globest.com reported Amazon had begun selling some of the land it acquired during its acquisition “binge.”

It’s not clear if conditions are right to sell or lease the Pasco warehouses to other users. There is no public indication that Amazon or its development partner has put either of the properties on the market.

Demand for industrial real estate is expected to stabilize at 2023 levels this year and there will be little new development, according to a 2024 forecast by CBRE Research for the commercial real estate brokerage.

The forecast anticipates deals covering 750 million square feet of industrial real estate in the U.S. this year, but renewals rather than new leases will account for most of the activity in the first six months.

No breaks for not opening

Operational or not, Amazon’s properties are subject to taxes based on 100% of their market value under Washington law.

If it had been prevented from opening, it might have qualified for a break. But that wasn’t the case.

Nearly half the $3 million will go to the Pasco School District to support operations and school construction. The balance will be split among the state school fund, Franklin County, the city of Pasco and the Port of Pasco.

The $3 million may sound like a windfall, but it isn’t.

School districts and other taxing entities collect a fixed amount spread across the tax base. In effect, Amazon’s warehouses relieve other property owners of having to pay $3 million in tax obligations.

Splitting the lunch check

The district set the total amounts to collect and the amounts don’t change even as larger commercial properties such as Amazon come in, explained Kevin Hebdon, the school district’s executive director of fiscal services.

He likened it to a group of four going out to lunch and agreeing to split the bill four ways. When a fifth joins the group, the bill is divided further, leaving each to pay a smaller share of the total bill.

“New commercial property growth does not mean additional money to the district, it simply means more people to cover the fixed tax collection amount,” he said.

For 2024, Pasco will collect $25.36 million to support operations and $27.8 million to service debt on bonds it issued to pay for school construction and other capital projects. Both were approved by voters.

When the tax base gets bigger, that spreads the burden.

Colin Hastings, executive director of the Pasco Chamber of Commerce, said he wasn’t tracking the property taxes. Instead, he’s keeping the long-term goal in view: Amazon commencing operations in east Pasco.

“The Pasco Chamber is eager for the economic growth because of the investments of Amazon as well as Darigold and NW Bounty,” he told the Herald.

Darigold is building a $600+ million dairy processing plant in north Pasco and NW Bounty, aka Local Bounti, is an indoor agricultural startup that recently began operations at its Pasco lettuce greenhouse.

Sneak peek

2024 property tax information is available on line in advance of physical bills. They can be accessed without logins or passwords.

Benton County property owners: Go to the treasurer’s property search site, bit.ly/BentonTreasurerPropertySearch

Change the Search Type from “Account Number” to “Property Address,” then enter the relevant address and street name but not the city and press the blue “Search” button.

Your property should be listed. Press “View Details” for information about your property, include taxes due and assessment details.

Franklin County property owners: Go to franklincountwa.gov/157/assessor. Choose “Property Search” from the menu on the left and proceed to site.

Enter address in search bar. Do not use periods. Choose your property and click on the “Treasurer” button. To access property tax information and if relevant, irrigation assessments.

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