Monday, September 15, 2014

Online retailer to bring 1,200 jobs to Bethlehem



Online retailer zulily will establish a fulfillment center in Bethlehem, creating 1,200 full-time jobs the next three years, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said.

The project is at 10 Emery St. in Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII, Kerry Wrobel, president of LVIP Inc., said this morning. The online retailer launched in 2010 and is headquartered in Seattle with locations in Reno, Nev., Columbus, Ohio, and London.


Corbett made the announcement as part of the JOBS1st PA initiative, which seeks to bring more business to the state. The governor’s action team coordinated the project, and the company received a funding proposal from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, including $3.6 million in job-creation tax credits, according to a press release.

The company plans to make a multimillion dollar investment at the new site, which will serve as the company’s Northeast fulfillment center. The lease is expected to begin later this year, with hiring to begin in the first half of 2015.

Liberty Property Trust of Bethlehem is developing the 800,000-square-foot building, which will be on 40 acres across from U.S. Cold Storage, Wrobel said. The new building will be used for warehouse and distribution.

“By the end of 2014, construction should be complete,” Wrobel said. “I think the extraordinary effort with this site was that it was one of the more difficult sites to develop.”

The former Bethlehem Steel structures, including the subsurface concrete that was on the site, made it difficult to develop, he said.

The project should add an economic impact to the mix of businesses in the industrial park.

“The building is going to be a significant tax ratable for the city and the Bethlehem Area School District,” Wrobel said.

Source: LVB.com

No comments:

Post a Comment