As it gears up for a move to Philadelphia, Harsco has unloaded its longtime Wormleysburg headquarters this year for $4.3 million.
- However, the roughly 42,000 square-foot building will remain a corporate headquarters.
- A partnership that includes Lemoyne-based Rhodes Development Group bought the building and plans to move there, along with two of its operating divisions, according to Larry Kluger, president and CEO of the employee-owned Rhodes.
- “This property is a great addition to our investment portfolio but we are even more excited about sharing such a cool workspace with our employee-owners,” Kluger said.
- Rhodes Development — whose signature projects include the Penn National Insurance Building in Harrisburg — has a staff of about 300.
What’s next: Rhodes and two of its divisions — Property Management Inc. and Capitol View Construction — plan to move in February, according to Kluger. The companies are currently based at 1300 Market St. in Lemoyne.
- A third division, HVAC and plumbing business CF Acri & Son, will remain in Harrisburg
- Harsco is planning to move next year to an office in Center City Philadelphia, where it reportedly has leased 22,250 square feet of office space.
- However, it plans to lease the third floor of the Wormleysburg building for five years, according to Kluger.
- Efforts to reach a Harsco spokesperson Friday were not successful.
The property: Harsco has owned the land at 350 Poplar Church Road since 1965, according to the deed.
- The company built the headquarters building in the 1970s and renovated it in 2015.
- About 100 people worked there when the move to Philly was announced in September 2021.
- Unlike Rite Aid – which moved to Philadelphia as part of a remote-first work strategy — Harsco has said it expects people to be working in the office.
- Both companies have indicated that the country’s sixth-largest city gives them access to a bigger pool of talent for hiring.
The history: Harsco was founded in 1853 as Harrisburg Car Co., a manufacturer of railroad cars.
- The company has evolved over the years and now focuses on providing environmental services, though it has a rail division specializing in track maintenance.
- Harsco employs 12,000 people in 35 countries and had revenue from continuing operations of nearly $1.8 billion in 2021, up from $1.5 biliion in 2020, according to its most recent annual report.
