New spec warehouse slated for western Cumberland County

Hoping to capitalize on continued demand for distribution facilities, a Chicago-based developer is planning to build 2.2 million square feet of warehouse space on 160 acres in Penn Township, Cumberland County.

Ridge Development, the industrial development arm of Transwestern Development Co., today said it expects to close on a deal for the land in September 2017. Construction would begin immediately on a 1.4 million-square-foot warehouse.

A second warehouse would follow at what is being called the Penn Commerce Logistics Center, located off exit 37 on I-81. The first building is expected to be completed in 2018, with full completion of the project slated for 2020, officials said.

Cost of the project was not immediately available. A contractor has not yet been selected.

"As a severely underserved market, Central Pennsylvania is an ideal location for Ridge to develop state-of-the-art warehouse space and establish a permanent presence in the Northeast," said Steve Kros, executive vice president at Ridge Development.

The Penn Commerce project, not far from an Office Depot distribution hub, kicks off Ridge Development's foray into the Northeast. Newly hired Paul Pontius, a senior vice president, will lead the local project from a new Ridge office in Harrisburg. 

"Central Pennsylvania is within a one-day drive of 40 percent of the U.S. population, making it an extremely desirable location for distribution centers and e-commerce facilities," Pontius said. "Specifically, the Carlisle submarket has the largest concentration of big-box industrial in Central Pennsylvania, but it is expected to be completely built out and absorbed before Penn Commerce Logistics Center delivers. The tight market in Carlisle primes Newville, a mere 7 miles away, for high demand for the foreseeable future."

Ridge Development has active industrial projects across the country, including along the East Coast. Cushman & Wakefield is marketing the Cumberland County site.

That part of the midstate has attracted several big warehouses in recent years. The biggest has been a 1.7 million-square-foot distribution facility built for Procter & Gamble Co. in Southampton Township, Franklin County.

Source: Central Penn Business Journal