While the sale price is relatively modest, the site needs plenty of work. The Conshohocken, PA-based PREI will take over the redevelopment of the site, which I-R itself had begun last year. According to PREI chairman Michael O'Neill, total anticipated investment to complete the redevelopment is in the $200-million range.
The property, which has been renamed Phillipsburg Commerce Park, consists of some three dozen existing buildings totaling almost one million sf on a core 100-acre site. The rest of the tract is largely vacant. I-R's redevelopment effort had already landed Flowserve US, Stateline Fabricators and Village Bus Co., which combined occupy about half of the existing building space. Flowserve recently announced that it would double its occupancy to 400,000 sf.
"The space won't be empty for long," O'Neill says. "This property has more potential than any in the state, and more potential than any site in Pennsylvania," a reference to the fact that this Warren County city sits directly across the Delaware River from Easton, PA.
According to O'Neill, his company is currently negotiating with nearly a dozen potential users, and "we expect to announce at least three new tenants with the next two weeks."
PREI's overall plan for the site includes a mix of industrial, office and retail space, much of which would require new construction. Other items on the company's wish list include a community center and a rail spur for a new transit center. About 100 of the vacant acres lie in the adjacent town of Lopatcong, and officials there say they would prefer retail development.
Located near both I-78 and US Route 22, the site also lies within a state-designated urban enterprise zone.
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