Red Solo Cup Manufacturer to Consolidate Footprint, Open New Facility in Delaware

By Cara Smith-Tenta 

CoStar News

The company that manufacturers red Solo cups plans to fill up some industrial space in Delaware.

Dart Container Corp, based in Mason, Michigan, agreed to occupy a 1 million-square-foot distribution center in New Castle, Delaware. The distribution facility is expected to open later this year and employ between 60 and 70 workers.

Dart’s new Delaware facility is reportedly planned to open in Delaware City Logistics Park, a 190-acre business park that is being developed by Northpoint Development, a commercial developer based in Riverside, Missouri, according to media reports. Dart declined to comment on the location of its new Delaware facility, and Northpoint Development declined to comment on Dart’s behalf.

The new facility is meant to replace two of Dart’s distribution centers in Maryland, one in Havre de Grace, and another in Hampstead, the spokesman said. Collectively, those facilities employ more than 80 workers, and around 15% of those employees are expected to be transferred to the Delaware distribution center.

Dart’s 607,987-square-foot facility in Havre de Grace sits at 1900 Clark Road, while its 1.03 million-square-foot facility in Hampstead sits at 630 Hanover Pike, according to CoStar data. Dart has occupied its Hampstead facility since 2001.

Dart operates a facility in Federalsburg, Maryland, at 1000 Industrial Park Road that employs 650 people. The spokesman said that facility will remain open.

New Castle sits right outside Wilmington and around 40 miles outside of Philadelphia, within the city’s metropolitan area. The narrative surrounding Philly’s industrial market, even throughout the coronavirus pandemic, remains “bullet-proof,” Adrian Ponsen, director of market analytics with CoStar in Philadelphia, writes in his most recent report on the city’s industrial market. The city’s industrial stock is just 5.1% vacant, compared to the national average of 5.5%, according to CoStar data, and Philadelphia is a strong East Coast distribution market that has attracted major retailers, including Amazon, Target and Walmart.

Though, there is something that could give investors in the city’s industrial market pause: More than 3 million square feet of distribution space in Philadelphia are occupied by troubled brick-and-mortar retailers, including Kmart, Sears and Office Depot, according to CoStar research, and the city is running the risk of having an overbuilt industrial market in the months and years to come.

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