Construction of a 68,000-square-foot manufacturing building in Airway Heights for energy efficiency system designer and contractor McKinstry Co. is nearly complete, says Gabe Boeckman, McKinstry’s market strategy and communications director.

Located at 9470 W. 21st, north of Spokane International Airport, the building will accommodate two operations, Overcast Innovations LLC and McKinstry’s fabrication services, says Boeckman.

Both companies have been sharing a temporary space in Spokane Valley and will move into the Airway Heights facility by year-end, he says.

The contractor for the $18.6 million project is Lydig Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley, says Boeckman. Press Architecture LLC, of Spokane, designed the facility, and the Spokane engineering offices of DCI Engineers Inc., Coffman Engineers Inc., and McKinstry, provided civil, structural, and mechanical engineering services, he says.

McKinstry’s fabrication shop, which produces sheet metal components, piping, and plumbing materials and systems, will occupy 48,000-square-feet of space says CJ Best, McKinstry’s director of manufacturing.

Best says the facility will support up to 120 workers across design, fabrication, and supply-chain operations.

Boeckman says Overcast Innovations will occupy 20,000 square feet of space. Overcast is a McKinstry subsidiary that engineers and manufactures ceiling panel and tubing systems, dubbed Cloud and Spline, that connect a dozen or more of a building’s systems and technologies into plug-and-play appliances. 

Scott VanVoorhis, director of manufacturing at Overcast, says the company currently has 15 employees and estimates the workforce will grow by up to 20 more employees by 2025.

“As orders ramp up, we’ll be bringing on additional assembly line workers to help aid our contractual agreements as it relates to delivery schedules,” he says.

VanVoorhis estimates the company will be able to produce 5,000 to 8,000 of its Cloud and Spline panel and tubing systems annually in the new space.

The building will be an all-electric facility, which supports McKinstry’s goal to decarbonize the company by 2030.

Best says, “It was a big effort in terms of planning around heating and cooling the building with all-electric components.”

Typically, such a space would use natural gas, he says.

The company also aims to have an all-electric vehicle fleet by 2030, he says. Of the 60 parking spots on the 5-acre property, 10 are charging spots for the company’s growing EV fleet, he adds.