Former Nabisco factory in Northeast Philadelphia under agreement

The former Nabisco and Mondelēz International factory at 12000 Roosevelt Blvd. in Northeast Philadelphia is under agreement with a developer who plans to pursue a project that includes retail and industrial uses.

The bakery was used by Nabisco and later Mondelēz to churn out popular products such as Oreos and Teddy Grahams. It was idled last summer. In a process that began a couple of years earlier, Mondelēz said its closure was part of the company’s plan to relocate manufacturing its baked goods and other products at more modern facilities in Virginia and New Jersey.

An aerial view of where the Mondolez property is located in Northeast Philadelphia.

The closure stung those who had worked there and others who saw the facility as a permanent fixture in Northeast Philadelphia. It had originally opened in the 1950s as a bakery for Nabisco. Kraft operated the factory until 2012 when it spun out its snack business and called it Mondelēz

When it closed the plant, Mondelēz put the Roosevelt property up for sale and now an out-of-state investor-developer has put it under agreement for an undisclosed price, said Rich Gorodesky, a broker with Colliers International who is arranging the transaction. Gorodesky also declined to say how much it might trade for though the asking price had been set at $25 million. The sale is contingent on the developer receiving required approvals for its planned redevelopment.

The property totals 27.5 acres and sits at the intersection of two of the region’s biggest thoroughfares — Roosevelt Boulevard, which is Route 1, and Woodhaven Road, which is Route 63.

“It’s a premier location,” Gorodesky said.

The complex consists of three sections — a bakery tower, manufacturing space and a roughly 120,000-square-foot distribution center. Early plans involve keeping the distribution center and razing the other two segments to make way for newly constructed retail space.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal