Sams Club, the members-only warehouse-store chain operated by retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is coming to Spokane.


Eric Berger, a Seattle-based Wal-Mart spokesman, says that plans submitted to the city of Spokane for an $11.7 million, 153,000-square-foot large retail development on Spokanes North Side are for a Sams Club store. As currently planned, that store will be the first of its kind in the Spokane area, he says.


The store is proposed for a 20-acre site at the northeast corner of Lincoln Road and Nevada Street, about 1 1/2 miles southeast of the nearest Wal-Mart supercenter, which is located at 9212 N. Colton, near the Division Street Y.


The store would be larger than a typical Sams Club, which has up to 130,000 square feet of floor space, according to the Sams Club Web site.


Berger says a Sams Club store typically takes 10 months to construct, and the planned Spokane store likely would open either late this year or in early 2007. About 120 people will work there, he says.


In addition to a large general-merchandise area and a supermarket, the store would include a vision center, an automotive center, a fueling station, and a car wash. At least one additional retail pad is proposed along Nevada Street in front of the planned store.


Joe Wizner, the building official for the city of Spokane, says the city likely wont issue a building permit for the project until late February or March. The project is going through a short-plat process currently, and a State Environmental Policy Act checklist must be completed, which typically is a 45-day process, Wizner says. Also, a traffic-impact study might be necessary.


Sams Club stores are similar in concept to Costco Wholesale Corp. stores, which offer general merchandise and food in bulk at reduced prices. Costco currently operates two of its stores in the Spokane area, one of which is located at 7619 N. Division, one mile west of the Sams Club site.


A Sams Club typically carries more than 4,000 items, including appliances and electronics, office supplies, fresh food, clothing, home furnishings, and auto supplies, among its merchandise, the companys Web site says.


The chain has more than 500 stores nationwide, with the nearest stores to Spokane located in the Seattle area.


Berger says the company currently doesnt have plans to announce additional Sams Club stores in the Spokane area, but Wal-Mart continues to look for additional sites both for Sams Club and Wal-Mart stores here.


Wal-Mart has three supercenters in the Spokane area. In addition to the store near the Division Street Y, the company has one in the Shadle Center, at 2301 W. Wellesley, and one in the Spokane Valley Plaza, at 15727 E. Broadway.