Matrix Development Acquires 205 Acres At United Business Park In Shippensburg, PA

by Steve Lubetkin, Globest.com
Matrix Development Group has acquired 205 acres of industrial land in United Business Park from the Cumberland Valley Regional Development Corporation.  The land is located in Shippensburg, PA, immediately off Interstate 81 at Exit 24, and has been approved for the development of two warehouse facilities totaling approximately 2.7 million square feet.

The site represented a great opportunity for Matrix to expand its development portfolio in central Pennsylvania, says Dave Thomas, vice president of industrial development for Matrix.

“The land in United Business Park represents one of the few sites along the Interstate 81 corridor where large-scale industrial development is truly feasible, with great access to I-81, utility infrastructure in place, and a strong workforce,” says Thomas.

Matrix is currently among the most active industrial developers in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey marketplace. It has developed more than 30 million square feet of industrial property, and has an additional 10 million square feet poised for build-to-suit delivery.  The addition of United Business Park to Matrix’s growing Pennsylvania portfolio allows the firm to offer various leasing and/or build-to-suit options.

“We are excited to have a developer of Matrix’s quality associated with the United Business Park,” says Dave Sciamanna, executive director of CVRDC.  “They did a phenomenal job with the World Kitchen property in southern Franklin County, and their presence in the park brings highly competitive, large scale, vertical development capability to the table.”

Matrix was represented by Lee & Associates of Eastern Pennsylvania in the transaction, led by Brian Knowles and John Van Buskirk.  Recently tapped by CVRDC to handle the marketing on the remainder of the park, Knowles and Van Buskirk will also be promoting the Matrix sites for lease.

“These sites are unique.  The ease of access to Interstate 81 is really remarkable, and Matrix has been very smart in the way they’ve programmed these sites with tons of parking and great onsite circulation”, says Van Buskirk.  “There just aren’t many opportunities of this caliber for building footprints at 1.2 million square feet and 1.5 million square feet in the Philadelphia market.  We expect the sites will be highly competitive as more and more companies like Procter & Gamble (1.7 million square feet) and Georgia-Pacific (1.5 million square feet) continue to draw on the efficiencies of scale offered by well-located large buildings able to effectively serve the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic populations.”
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