Developer breaks ground on 750,000-square-foot industrial warehouse

Dermody Properties broke ground this morning on what will become a 750,000-square-foot industrial development in Bethel Township's Berks Park 78, becoming a neighbor to the recently built Dollar General and PetSmart facilities in the same industrial park.

The national industrial development firm of Dermody, from Reno, Nev., partnered with Granite Real Estate Investment Trust of Canada to develop an industrial warehouse and distribution center, which sits on Martha Drive, in the 323-acre industrial business park off exit 13 of Interstate 78.

“We are making investments and developing facilities in highly desirable, strategically

advantaged markets across the country,” Dermody’s president Douglas Kiersey Jr. said. “The central and eastern Pennsylvania market is one we’re committed to, and we believe Berks Park 78 is one of the premier industrial parks in that market.”

Dermody Properties is the developer and operating partner, while Granite is the majority equity partner on the project, which has local economic revitalization tax assistance, providing potential tenants with reduced real estate taxes over a 10-year period.

The site will be designed for distribution or e-commerce operations, featuring 316 car parking spaces and 322 trailer parking spaces.

“We are excited to begin construction on this development,” said Gene Preston, partner, Dermody Properties east region office. “This facility will provide superior solutions for distribution and warehousing operations, and the location is ideal for companies that need to reach the northeastern U.S. consumer and business markets quickly and efficiently.”

Source: LVB.com

UGI to replace infrastructure

UGI Utilities Inc. Gas Division will spend about $51.2 million each year through 2018 to replace out-of-date gas mains — and customers will eventually have to help foot the bill.

UGI’s long-term infrastructure improvement plan, approved unanimously last week by the state Public Utility Commission, is a five-year plan to replace the company’s cast-iron mains within 14 years and its bare steel mains within 30 years of March 2013.

The plan also includes service line replacements, according to a news release from the PUC. UGI will replace gas-service lines on a planned basis in conjunction with the replacement of the mains to which they are connected.

UGI plans to install excess flow valves; replace and relocate meters; and replace risers, meter bars, regulator stations and service regulators, according to the release. According to UGI, the company has been replacing infrastructure as a result of the commitments made in a 2012 settlement agreement regarding a 2011 fatal natural-gas explosion in Allentown.

The work is considered eligible for a distribution system improvement charge, according to the PUC, but UGI cannot file for a charge until March. It wasn’t clear how much the charge would be.

Utility companies in Pennsylvania can ask the PUC for permission to levy a charge to recover repair and replacement costs. The law — Act 11 of 2012 — says the charge must provide for “the timely recovery of the reasonable and prudent costs incurred to repair, improve or replace eligible property in order to ensure and maintain adequate, efficient, safe, reliable and reasonable service,” according to the PUC.

UGI Utilities Inc. provides natural-gas service to about 356,000 customers in Eastern and Central Pennsylvania.

Source: LVB.com