Arlington’s ‘Project Cascade’ is another Amazon facility

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 20, 2026

ARLINGTON — A proposed development in Arlington and Marysville’s Cascade Industrial Center would be an Amazon operations facility, a release said Tuesday.

The release was sent in response to public concern that the building would be a data center.

The city is in the early stages of ironing out an interlocal agreement with Marysville because the approximately 1.2 million-square-foot development, known as Project Cascade, would sit within both cities’ industrial hubs.

In the release, Amazon’s economic development manager Easton Craft said Project Cascade would “support customer delivery in the Central and North Puget Sound area.”

“We’re committed to being a good neighbor,” Craft said in the release. “Before any new facility launches, we engage with local officials and community members to discuss our operations, answer questions, and learn how we can boost the community’s growth and prosperity. We look forward to sharing more when we can.”

On Monday, residents expressed concerns at a City Council meeting about the initial lack of information about the project, and the possible peak 9.5 megawatts of power developers were requesting from the Snohomish County Public Utility District, according to planning documents.

Amongst those residents was Jennifer Hulme, who lives just outside Arlington.

“While I do not live within city limits, a data center that operates within city limits will still directly affect me and my neighbors,” she said. “We are seeing data center operations spiking energy costs for residential users across the nation.”

Marysville resident Annie Fitzgerald spoke about the lack of transparency.

“Residents deserve honest communication, meaningful public involvement and full disclosure before decisions are made that could permanently reshape our communities,” she said. “How much electricity and water would these facilities consume over time? How would expanded industrial development impact road traffic, air quality and emergency services?”

The estimated water use for the facility would be about 44,000 gallons per day, the Tuesday release said, based on information provided by Project Cascade’s development company Panattoni.

“A data center of approximately 1 million square feet could require more than 400,000 gallons of water per day and more than 300 megawatts of power,” the release said, based on information from Panattoni.

Amazon’s current 2.9 million-square-foot fulfillment center in Arlington, which opened in 2023, used about 5.2 megawatts of power on average last year, according to a Snohomish County PUD public records request.

PUD considers anything over 2.5 megawatts of power a large load.

During the Monday meeting, city officials limited the public comment period to 30 minutes.

“I appreciate the questions and concern we have heard from community members,” Mayor Don Vanney said in the release, “especially around sustainable growth, including water use, power demand, and whether this proposal is like a data center. We understand it is important that our community has accurate information.”

At the start of the meeting, Mayor Don Vanney read a statement.

“While the discussions are still preliminary, I can confirm this is not a data center,” he said. “Data centers are not an allowed use under the current zoning for this property.”

No permit applications have been submitted for the project, Vanney said.

There is still a chance the project doesn’t happen, said Thad Newport, Arlington’s development services engineering manager, on May 11.

It is also common for large projects like this to have some form of secrecy in the early stages, he said Monday, whether they be grocery stores, office buildings or an industrial building.

For Project Cascade, city staff are following the requirements and processes established in Arlington’s land use code, the release said.

Taylor Scott Richmond: 425-339-3046; taylor.richmond@heraldnet.com; X: @BTayOkay