Baldor Specialty Foods, a New York-based wholesale distributor of meat, poultry, produce and other comestibles, bought 13 acres in Northeast Philadelphia and will invest $40 million to develop a new cold storage facility.
The development is part of the Bronx company’s expansion into Philadelphia and will use the location to grow its business within a roughly 100-mile radius of the city. Baldor will venture to Atlantic City and the Shore, the Poconos, and areas west of the metropolitan area.
“We will be slowly building the business out,” said Glenn Messinger, vice president of branch operations for Baldor.
The company, which preferred to own its own property rather than lease, looked at sites in South Jersey, Philadelphia and its western suburbs when it was considering where to build. It wanted a location that had good access to its clients, which include restaurants, universities, grocery stores including Whole Foods, and, with the onset of the pandemic, home delivery of groceries. It also needed to be near freight and preferred a site designated as a Federal Opportunity Zone.
The company found what it wanted at 7071 Milnor St. and paid $10 million for the land, which is in an opportunity zone. It will build a 224,000-square-foot warehouse-distribution center on the property.
Baldor’s expansion into Philadelphia also continues a growing trend in which New York companies have been increasingly leasing or buying warehouse-distribution buildings in Philadelphia.
New York companies entering the market are finding the cost of real estate and labor attractive as well as the availability of workers. That influenced Baldor’s decision as well.
“We thought the cost of business was less in Center City than in South Jersey,” Messinger said. “Pennsylvania has a favorable labor rate and, as we look toward the future, it will reduce the cost of business and improve our carbon footprint.”
The Philadelphia facility is expected to employ 120 people. Baldor will start out with 30 trucks operating and making deliveries out of the new site. Messinger estimates that will grow to 100 and maybe 150 trucks over time. The building is expected to be completed by October 2021.
*Article Courtesy of Philadelphia Business Journal
For more information about Philadelphia land sites for sale or about any other Philadelphia properties for sale or lease, please contact WCRE at 215-799-6900.
Wolf Commercial Real Estate, a full-service CORFAC International brokerage and advisory firm, is a premier Philadelphia commercial real estate broker that provides a full range of Philadelphia commercial real estate listings and services, property management services, and marketing commercial offices, medical properties, industrial properties, land properties, retail buildings and other Philadelphia commercial properties for buyers, tenants, investors and sellers.
Please visit our websites for a full listing of Philadelphia land sites for sale through our Philadelphia commercial real estate brokerage firm.
