Replacing the warehouse would cost $50 million to $70 million, not including equipment to automate an operation that has handled more than 18,000 cases of spirits a day. The current automation system cost $12 million in 2005 and is facing the end of its life in four years.

ABC estimates it would need a warehouse with excellent access to interstate highways; up to 400,000 square feet of space; and ceilings up to 45 feet high for racking inventory.

It also would need a new headquarters building of up to 100,000 square feet of office space and conference rooms, though one of the decisions facing the state is whether to keep the headquarters and warehouse together.

“I don’t see a lot of existing options out there at the moment,” Hill said.

ABC also has to consider what Del. Luke E. Torian, D-Prince William, called “a paradigm shift” that would rely on regional warehouses instead of one central location to supply a liquor monopoly that currently serves 358 stores across Virginia.

The agency also faces the challenge of coordinating a massive move at the same time it is preparing to transform into an independent authority in mid-2018. The new warehouse would have to be operating before the old one could shut down, and the agency would need time and money to plan the move.

“We have to plan this so we don’t harm a $1 billion business for the commonwealth,” Hill said.