SCS Refrigerated Services LLC, a big Seattle-area provider of refrigerated and frozen storage, plans to open a 100,000-square-foot cold-storage facility here this month, in the former SuperValu Inc. distribution center, in Spokane Valley.

SCS Refrigerated Services, which currently has a total of 467,000 square feet of refrigerated, frozen, and room-temperature storage space on the West Side, primarily for commercial food producers and manufacturers, has leased the large space, at 11016 E. Montgomery here, to expand its business, says Bonnie Geise, a regional accounts manager for the company. It expects to employ about 10 people here initially, she says.

The warehouse and distribution facility is located north of Interstate 90, between the Argonne and Pines interchanges.

Montgomery Realty LLC, a real estate unit of Spokane Valley-based Aslin-Finch Feed Co., bought the former SuperValu warehouse, now known as the Central Business Park, in 2008, to expand its own distribution network. It leased back some space to grocery giant SuperValu, of Minneapolis, Minn., which owns the Albertsons Inc. grocery chain.

Geise says that about 90,000 square feet of the space SCS is leasing there contains refrigeration and freezer units formerly used by SuperValu. She says the facility is configured for SCS Refrigerated Services' needs already and has required little work to prepare for occupancy.

The Algona, Wash.-based company views the Spokane location as an expansion that will draw customers from around the country, such as distributors of frozen foods or raw ingredients used in food manufacturing, or who have items either coming into or being distributed from the Spokane area, Geise says.

SCS was founded in 1969 in Seattle, as Seattle Cold Storage, Geise says. SCS already has some customers in Spokane who use part of its about 467,000 square feet of storage among its three facilities on the West Side—in Seattle, Algona, and Tacoma—and it's hoping to build its customer base here, she says.

"An opportunity presented itself, and we've been trying to grow our company," Geise says. She says SCS Refrigerated Services doesn't have specific plans for additional facilities, but will continue to look for opportunities to expand.

SCS Refrigerated Services doesn't own its own trucks, but frequently helps its customers arrange for transportation of refrigerated items, Geise says. The company also has its own inventory tracking software that allows its customers to check their inventory quantities via the Internet at any time, she says.

The building owner, Aslin-Finch, manufactures and distributes animal feed and wholesale grass and pasture seed products.