If the massive warehouse planned just north of the Nike facility in Raleigh gets built, it stands to be a hub of job creation in northern Memphis.

Based simply on its size — five stories and possibly more than 4 million square feet on a 99-acre plot of land — elected officials have estimated that it could create at least 1,000 jobs. Its parking lot — 1,828 car and 200 truck spaces plus an area that could be used to add future parking — indicates the possibility of even more hiring.

While many of the specifics of the development dubbed "Project Iris" were included in an application to change zoning ordinances to allow for the building, key pieces of information were also missing. At the top of the list is what company would occupy the building.

For now, most signs seem to be pointing in one direction: Amazon, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

We looked into that possibility. Here are three reasons we think the Raleigh site could become an Amazon fulfillment center and one reason we still have doubts.

Amazon's expansion in the region

Two years ago, Amazon had no significant presence in Memphis or the surrounding area. Since then, the e-commerce giant has opened a receiving center at 3292 Holmes Road and a sortation center at 5155 Citation Drive in Memphis.

Last September, Amazon announced plans to hire about 1,500 workers between the two facilities.

Within three months, Amazon was already expanding in the region. It announced another fulfillment center would be built in northern Mississippi's Marshall County south of Collierville.

If recent growth is any indication, there is reason to believe that Amazon would be interested in another facility in the Mid-South.

Familiar coded language on site plans

Amazon is notoriously secretive about its expansion. Its use of code names and non-disclosure agreements in the early stages of a project have been well documented.

When it went before an planning board in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, last year to request changes to zoning ordinances, site plans used the code name "Project Arrow."

Site plans for the proposed Raleigh project show a larger footprint but more parking and other differences. Still, there was one key similarity that might suggest Amazon is considering a new Memphis distribution center: A seemingly innocuous code — AR SORT FC — is printed on both sets of plans. That's despite being created by different development companies for different zoning bodies in different states.

AR SORT FC is likely shorthand for Amazon Robotics Sortable Fulfillment Center, one of six kinds of warehouses the company operates where its workers pick, pack and ship customer orders.

Amazon-affiliated developer

While the development companies in Wisconsin and Raleigh are different, Seefried Industrial Properties, the developer behind the Memphis project has repeatedly worked with Amazon.

On Seefried's website, it lists three Amazon warehouses it has built in Birmingham, Tucson and Salt Lake City in the past.

As recently as late last year, Seefried was requesting zoning changes in Kernersville, North Carolina, to build what was later announced to be an Amazon facility. That zoning application did not included detailed site plans so no code names or other coded language were used.

A representative from Seefried Industrial Properties could not be reached for comment. Seefried has worked with several other companies including Mercedes-Benz and Best Buy.

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No official confirmation

Despite signs pointing to Amazon, no officials will confirm that it is indeed considering building in Raleigh.

The neighborhood is in County Commissioner Willie Brooks' district. On Wednesday, he said he had only been given high level information about the project and that did not include the name of the company.

He did, however, say that given the large number of jobs that could be created and that he knows the company — which ever one it is — is still considering other cities for its distribution center, it is likely that talks about state and local tax breaks and other incentives could be underway.

If that's the case, the Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) for Memphis and Shelby County and the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development would likely be involved.

EDGE wouldn't say if Amazon or any other company had contacted its staff about possible incentives.

"EDGE does not comment on projects unless or until the projects are ready to be made public," an email statement said.

State officials could not be reached for comment.

Desiree Stennett covers economic development and business at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at desiree.stennett@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2738 or on Twitter: @desi_stennett.