First building at former Kraft facility to open in December

Companies that are active in the e-commerce, food and beverage manufacturing and third-party logistics industries are in tough competition with others seeking the same land to occupy their businesses in the Lehigh Valley.

That’s what CBRE and countless other commercial real estate firms are finding in the industrial market as a whole. One example is the development of the former Kraft plant in Upper Macungie Township.

The project, Park 100 Logistics Center, is more than halfway complete, said Jake Terkanian, first vice president of CBRE, the Philadelphia-based firm marketing the property. Workers should finish the first building by December, he said.

The park would consist of two buildings, each 730,080 square feet on 92 acres on Industrial Boulevard near Route 100.

“Location is its largest attribute,” Terkanian said. “You have scale. To get scale anywhere else in the Lehigh Valley on the west side, you’d have to drive down to Lower Macungie.”

The campus setting of the industrial park is also something that’s becoming more popular for industrial tenants, he added.

Uline created a similar setting with its two new industrial buildings off Mill Creek Road in Upper Macungie, he added.

“We are seeing that a lot,” Terkanian said. “They realize consolidating into one location can create a lot of efficiencies.”

Though Park 100 Logistics Center has attracted tenant interest from distribution companies, it could potentially fit manufacturing users and more than one tenant, he said.

A former major production facility for Kraft, the site has strong utility infrastructure, he added.

Once the first building is complete, workers will begin the second one.

QEI Construction Group of Harrisburg is building the site. Ridgeline Property Group of Atlanta, Ga., is the owner.