Just like the arrow in its logo, all signs point to Amazon being the mystery company behind the massive warehouse and distribution center coming to the Des Moines metro.

State documents obtained by the Des Moines Register offer new details about the development, including the price tag.

Project Bluejay, the project's code name, will cost $250 million to build, according to the state documents.

Those documents also say the unnamed company employed 647,500 people at the end of last year.

That's exactly the same number of full- and part-time employees Amazon reported as of Dec. 31.

"There cannot be many firms anywhere close to that size operating in the U.S," Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson said. "It's pretty hard to come up with an example of a distribution firm that has these characteristics that isn't Amazon."

Located on 165 acres along U.S. Highway 65 in Bondurant, the distribution center is expected to add more than 1,000 jobs in central Iowa.

Grading on the project site could begin in November, and the facility could be in operation by late 2021.

Amazon's public relations staff won't say if the online retailer is behind the project and local officials are not commenting on the company's identity, citing nondisclosure agreements, fitting Amazon's pattern of silencing city officials through nondisclosure agreements as their projects take shape.

More on Project Bluejay:

But the veil of secrecy continues to thin as more details emerge.

Bondurant's grant application to the Iowa Transportation Commission to fund road work at the project site includes language about the company lifted word-for-word from Amazon's website. It says the mystery company is "guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence and long-term thinking."

The application's description of the company says it sells "merchandise and content that has been purchased for resale and products offered by third-party sellers," as well as manufactures and sells electronic devices.

Last week, the Bondurant City Council approved a site plan that included a design for the five-story building, which will be gray with blue trim. The design carries a strong resemblance to plans for an Amazon fulfillment center proposed in July for Prince George's County, Maryland.

Similar to Project Bluejay, the proposed Maryland fulfillment center's design includes nearly 1,800 parking spaces and 267 loading spaces.

Swenson said the pay, in addition to the facility's size, also points to Amazon. Full-time associates for the company start at a minimum hourly wage of $15 an hour.

"That's what Amazon pays," he said. "It certainly does look like an Amazon-like distribution facility."

Positions at the facility will include more than 100 jobs earning $60,000, and more than 40 jobs earning $80,000 or more, according to the documents.

Amazon operates more than 175 fulfillment centers around the world, 110 of which are in North America. This would be Amazon's first fulfillment center in Iowa.

Amazon did not return a reporter's request for comment this week. The company also declined to comment on questions about the project last week, with a company spokeswoman saying in an email that it would not address "rumor or speculation."

Kathy Jalivay, a spokeswoman for Ryan Companies, the group that's building the project, said she could not share any details.

The Iowa Transportation Commission approved Bondurant's application Tuesday. The state will provide up to 60% of the funding for road improvements along Grant Street, 32nd Street and U.S. Highway 65 to support the project.

Estimates for the total cost of the road work could run between $12 and $14 million.

Bondurant has yet to enter into a development agreement for the project, which would likely outline tax incentives. The city's commercial property tax abatement program could allow the company to pay no taxes on new development for the first three years or to pay a gradually increasing portion of the property taxes over the next six years, ranging from 20% in the first year to 70% in the sixth.

The state of Iowa may approve tax incentives for the project, although the Iowa Economic Development Authority will not provide information until the project has been vetted by the state's compliance team and is ready to present to the IEDA board.

Ian Richardson covers Ankeny and Altoona for the Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.

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