Thursday, March 4, 2021
Pregis Signs 7-Year Lease for 304,000SF in Bethel Township, PA
By Jan Goodwin Muscarella CoStar
A little over a year after completing the project, Dermody Properties has secured a tenant for its speculative warehouse development in Bethel Township, Pennsylvania.
Pregis, a provider of packaging and protective products, signed a lease to take all 304,000 square feet at LogistiCenter at Midway South at 9024 Old Route 22. The expansion will allow the company to add more capacity to its e-commerce product line, Elizabeth Kauchak, chief operating officer at Dermody, said in a release.
“We’ve seen an unprecedented amount of growth in e-commerce over the past year, which has significantly driven up the demand for Class A, state-of-the-art distribution and logistics facilities,” Kauchak said.
The facility is adjacent to Interstate 78, one of Pennsylvania’s main trade arteries. It offers direct access to all major markets along the North Eastern Shore, and from this location Pregis can reach 36% of the United States and 60% of Canada’s population, Gene Preston, East region partner at Dermody Properties, said in a statement.
Over the past 12 months, more than 3.5 million square feet of Berks County industrial space has been occupied, some of the highest levels of demand that the Reading area, which includes Bethel, has ever experienced, according to CoStar information. What remains to be seen is if this hot streak is sustainable, or just a flash in the pan.
Industrial developers have added more than 7 million square feet in Reading since 2015, expanding the local inventory by nearly 20%. Until 2020, demand did not kept pace. Reading’s vacancies were near 15% at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and the region still has several properties that, despite being completed years ago, remained unleased.
“Reading really popped off in 2020. This is definitely Pennsylvania’s most interesting industrial market right now. It did so well last year, but there’s still a lot of supply underway and existing projects that haven’t filled. Their success or troubles will tell us quite a bit about how the supply chain is responding to COVID-19.”
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
PhilaPort to start work on new $42M warehouse
Natalie Kostelni Reporter Philadelphia Business Journal
PhilaPort plans to break ground on Thursday on a new $42 million, 201,621-square-foot distribution center that is part of a broader capital investment program at the port.
The building at 445 Pattison Ave. will be leased to Holt Logistics Corp. as part of the company's lease at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. The facility will have 32 loading docks and provide storage for dry cargo arriving at that terminal. PhilaPort also intends to leverage the facility to attract new ocean lines and other business to the port. Once operational, it is expected to create 200 to 300 jobs.
A second phase totaling 217,000 square feet could eventually be built that would incorporate refrigerated warehousing.
In late 2016, the state announced it would invest more than $300 million in infrastructure, warehousing, and equipment at the port. The work aimed to double container capacity and position it for future growth at its Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, its automobile-handling operations, and the Tioga Marine Terminal.
Full story: https://tinyurl.com/4xf4pmpw
DNA Motoring Leases 300,700 SF in Southern NJ
by Linda Moss Costar News
An automotive supplier has leased a 300,700-square-foot warehouse that developer Black Creek Group is building in New Jersey.
DNA Motoring, headquartered in City of Industry, California, will be the tenant at 839 Railroad Ave., a Class A industrial facility in Florence that’s expected to be completed before midyear.
DNA Motoring will now have distribution facilities not only in New Jersey but Texas and California, according to a statement on Tuesday from Lee & Associates, which represented Denver-based Black Creek in the transaction.
The tenant provides a range of products serving the automotive and trucking industries including exhaust systems, lighting components, radiator and cooling systems, and parts such as running boards and hitches. DNA Motoring expects to take occupancy of the Florence building this summer.
Black Creek has acquired a number of industrial properties in New Jersey in the past year or so. Last May, the developer paid $14.75 million for the 31-acre site in Florence. The building has 36-foot ceilings, 37 doors and parking areas that accommodate 354 cars and 118 trailers. The office space will be built to suit DNA Motoring.
The building is adjacent to Route 130 and is located less than 1 mile from Interstate 95, with immediate access to interstates 276 and 295 and the New Jersey Turnpike. Philadelphia is less than 30 miles from the site, and the ports of Wilmington and Elizabeth are about 60 miles away.
“DNA Motoring continues to gain market share in the rapidly growing automotive and trucking sectors, and this site will support its existing operations in New Jersey to supply products to dealerships and customers throughout the East Coast and Midwest sections of the country,” Tony Rod, a principal at Lee & Associates of Eastern Pennsylvania, said in a statement.
“Black Creek Group’s vision to speculatively develop this best-in-class warehouse/industrial building was driven by the continued demand among end-users involved in the manufacturing, distribution and logistics sectors,” Rod said.
