South Whitehall Township commissioners Wednesday waived
formal review requirements for Banko Beverage Co.'s plan to expand its new
building.
The beer distributor intends to move from its current site
at 2124 Hanover Ave. in Allentown to the former Jamison Plastic Corp. facility
this spring. WOLF, formerly known as Wolf Distributing Co., is also a previous
occupant of the 5001 Crackersport Road facility, township officials said.
Before relocating to the facility in March or April, Banko
plans to complete a roughly $7 million expansion project at the building, which
was purchased for $4.6 million. Company officials said Banko has outgrown its
current home and the Crackersport Road facility expansion will provide room for
the addition of product lines, particularly craft beers, officials said.
There's a large hill behind the Allentown facility that
would have made expansion there difficult, officials said.
Commissioners voted 5-0 in favor of the waiver, which South
Whitehall staff recommended, in part, because the addition will be constructed
on existing impervious surfaces.
A 19,460-square-foot addition is planned for the east side
of the 98,954-square-foot building, Gilmore & Associates engineer Scott
Muller told commissioners. The expansion will serve as a cold storage area, he
said.
Banko also plans to modify the building's existing parking
and trailer storage areas, resulting in an additional 996 square feet, Muller
said. In addition, the company is eyeing a future 3,800-square-foot expansion
on the north side of the building, according to submitted plans, but there's no
timeline for that project.
Banko officials said the company chose the Crackersport Road
building because of its proximity to Routes 22 and 309, as well as the
Pennsylvania Turnpike. The move could create new full-time jobs at Banko, which
employs 95 people in Allentown and 36 people at its Scranton location,
officials said.
Source: Lehigh
Valley Live
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