by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns bounce@conway.com Two big cities are the glue that holds together New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. But micropolitan projects display vision that is anything but 'small-town.'

REI will locate their second North American distribution center at Bedford County Business Park II in Pennsylvania, shown facing east, with I-99 directly in the background. The REI project will occupy 30 acres (12 hectares) of phase I. Engineering and design work has begun for developing the park's remaining 96 acres (39 hectares). Befitting the co-op's mission, Dave Presley (inset), REI's vice president of distribution & logistics, says a "high outdoor recreation participation index" was among the criteria he and his team evaluated on three separate visits to Bedford. Photo courtesy Art Heim, HeimWorks

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t's not every day you see a corporation site a US$30- million distribution center along what the road atlas labels a scenic byway. But then, Kent, Wash.- based retail co- op Recreational Equipment, Inc. — better known as REI — isn't your everyday company. REI team members and co-op members alike take their landscapes seriously, even when it comes to facility development.
   REI announced in December 2005 it would build a $30- million, 350- worker distribution center in Bedford County Business Park II, a 145- acre (59- hectare) development launched in late 2004. Expected to shoulder some 40 percent of the company's distribution load when it's fully operational, the 400,000- sq.- ft. (37,160- sq.- m.) facility will work in tandem with REI's 700,000- sq.- ft. (65,030- sq.- m.) facility in Sumner, Wash., outside Seattle, which was just expanded itself by 144,000 sq.- ft. (13,378 sq.- m.).
   The USDA economic research service identifies Bedford County with an urban influence code of "6," meaning "noncore adjacent to a small metro with town of at least 2,300 residents." Sixty percent of its 652,160 acres (263,929 hectares) are still forest. All of which doesn't exactly scream "distribution capital."
   But the county has more miles of Interstate than any other Pennsylvania county (it's part of the regional "I-99 Corridor" branding effort) and already boasts one of Wal-Mart's best- performing food distribution warehouses. Recent layoffs in other sectors had pushed unemployment to 10.6 percent within the past year. And yes, the outdoors aesthetic did carry weight in the site selection process.
   "All communities offered incentives and other attractive features," Dave Presley, REI's vice president of distribution & logistics, tells Site Selection. "But it's the culture that makes REI a special company — it's our point of differentiation — so it was extremely important that we be able to hire a work force that is knowledgeable about outdoor recreation and the gear we sell. Bedford, with its high outdoor recreation participation index and close proximity to some great outdoor recreation areas, definitely fits the bill."
   Presley's team — comprising himself, Senior Vice President of Merchandising & Logistics Matt Hyde, Director of DC Operations Chris Joyce, consultants DCB & Co., Inc., and CB Richard Ellis — began exploring options for a second distribution center two years ago, after the decision to expand the Sumner location had already been made. Presley says the company's growth to 80 stores in 25 states meant REI was approaching critical mass for one DC. There also was a decidedly expanded presence on the east coast to support: Currently REI has 28 retail stores located east of the Mississippi River that serve nearly 750,000 of REI's 2.5 million active members.
   "So during the past couple years we formed our site selection team, identified our selection criteria and spent the better part of 2005 researching and evaluating 80 sites," he says, "eventually narrowing the field to 30, then 16, eight, and three before selecting Bedford."
   The finalist sites were located at various locations in Pittsburgh, Virginia and West Virginia. Asked if he was concerned by what appears to be a spread-out population and the presence of other distribution center employers, Presley says, "We did our homework by meeting with employers in a variety of industries, including some of our own vendors from the area such as Cannondale. This helped paint a picture of the local culture and employment picture. With recent downsizing of manufacturing in Bedford and the surrounding area, we believe that we will be able to tap the existing skills and strong work ethic for our DC team. In addition, the area's strong transportation infrastructure will help to attract potential employees from a wider radius than Bedford County alone."
   REI's own attractiveness will pull them in too: The company has been named to FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" list for eight consecutive years, making the top 10 for the first time this year. REI announced in October 2005 that it will begin providing healthcare benefits to all part-time and seasonal employees effective Jan. 1. Other benefits offered to REI employees include flexible scheduling, gear discounts, free gear rentals, tuition reimbursement, performance-based incentive programs and gear grants to support employees' "personal outdoor adventure challenges."