A prominent warehouse developer is weighing a new project in York County along Interstate 83 in an area where highway planners are considering the addition of a new exit.
- The warehouse project is still a long way from approval. But concepts floated by Missouri-based NorthPoint Development show roughly 1.5 million to 2 million square feet of warehouse space in multiple buildings, according to Tim James, manager of Manchester Township, where the project is being considered.
- The development would take up roughly 200 acres of farmland south of Canal Road and west of Bear Road.
- The land was rezoned last fall from agricultural to industrial, James said. It is currently owned by a family trust, according to York County property records.
- NorthPoint spokesperson Natasha Rickel declined to comment on the project.
Why is this happening: It’s a familiar refrain in Central Pennsylvania
- Crisscrossed by highways and near big East Coast cities, the region is in a sweet spot for distribution and logistics.
- The growth of ecommerce, which drives demand for warehouse space instead of shopping malls, also plays a role.
- Cumberland County was the initial ground zero for warehouse development but the action has been moving to the I-83 corridor between Harrisburg and York.
- Large warehouses have sprung up emblazoned with names like Amazon and Chewy.
What’s next: NorthPoint is asking for a tax break known as a LERTA for the 200-acre tract in Manchester Township, according to James.
- A LERTA — or Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance — allows developers to phase in property tax increases associated with new projects, typically over a period of 10 years.
- A hearing on NorthPoint’s request is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 8 at township offices at 3200 Farmtrail Road, James said.
- Terms of the LERTA are still to be decided, he added.
- NorthPoint is currently building a roughly 1 million square foot warehouse west of York in Jackson Township, along Bowman Road between Routes 30 and 234.
- That warehouse is scheduled to be ready by September, according to Rickel.
- Rickel declined to identify the building’s potential tenants but NorthPoint clients include Amazon, FedEx and Staples, according to its website.
What about the new exit: Dubbed exit 26, it would sit at Canal Road, which intersects 83 roughly halfway between existing exits 24 and 28.
- Decisions are pending on whether to build or how to fund the exit.
- In the meantime, local officials are considering how to revise land use in its vicinity.
- Public hearings on a draft land-use plan are scheduled over the next few weeks in Manchester, Conewago and East Manchester townships and Manchester borough.
- NorthPoint is not the only developer in the neighborhood.
- York-based Pasch Companies is planning an $800 million mixed-use development along Canal Road, also west of 83.
-by Joel Berg, editor of biznewsPA
