Transwestern Acquiring 160 Acres for 2.2-Million-SF Spec Warehouse Project

The industrial development arm of Transwestern will acquire 160 acres in Penn Township, PA, for the development and construction of a 2.2 million-square-foot warehouse project.

The speculative project dubbed Penn Commerce Logistics Center in Penn Township, located about 23 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, launches the first operations in the Northwest by Ridge Development, the industrial development division of Transwestern Development Co.

Ridge, under contract for the purchase of the site at Exit 37 on Interstate 81, will begin construction of a 1.4 million-square-foot building when the transaction closes in September 2017. The building is expected to deliver in 2018, with build-out of the project targeted for 2020.

Ridge has hired Senior Vice President Paul Pontius to lead the operation, based at the new Ridge office in Harrisburg.

In a statement, Ridge Executive Vice President Steve Kros said Central Pennsylvania is "severely underserved" by industrial product, making Penn Township in ideal entry point for the company's Northeast expansion.

The numbers would support Kros's contention. The Newville submarket where Penn Commerce Logistics Center will be located had just 2.57 million square feet of existing warehouse space at mid-year 2016, fully occupied, the company said. Nearby Carlisle, by contrast, had 18.2 million square feet of existing warehouse inventory with 7% vacancy and 2.35 million square feet under construction.

Ridge officials said the project will feature the largest floor plate, at nearly 1.5 million square feet, of any development within 30 miles of Harrisburg. The cross dock buildings will range from 36- to 40-foot clear heights.
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