Located in Albany, the center's 105 acre site provides parking for over 200 truck trailers in addition to employee parking. The center is an enormous building of approximately 616,000 square feet separated into two large wings, one for receiving and one for shipping. It services 39 Target stores using a highly automated conveyor system which reads computerized bar codes then sorts and distributes boxes to specific shipping lines. In addition to the large area taken up by the conveyor system, there are areas for music and movies, a repacking or value-added area, and a central reserve storage. The center also contains administrative offices, training areas, break rooms, computer rooms, and restrooms.
Intervenor emphasizes that a distribution center is more than just a warehouse.
It is a systemized approach for sorting and distributing goods, including, to some degree, repackaging. The facility's primary purpose is not for storage but for distribution. Over 60 percent of the goods that flow through the center are shipped out the same day they are received. This point is emphasized because the size, complexity and level of technology involved requires significant computer testing and employee training before the system can be used. Due to the nature of its operations, the center was required to select a fixed completion date in order to coordinate shipping and receiving with other distribution centers.