By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor
A European fashion retailer looking to expand overseas has officially entered the US market by leasing a 40-acre site in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley industrial market to support its east coast operations.
2485 Commerce Center Boulevard Warehouse – Bethlehem PA
UK-based Primark, which was founded in Ireland in 1969 under the name Penneys and focuses on affordable and trendy clothing for men and women, will open a distribution center in a warehouse located in the former Bethlehem Steel complex. According to a press statement, Primark signed a 10-year lease for a 677,000-square-foot Class A speculative warehouse owned by a joint venture between Trammell Crow Company and Clarion Partners.
“This is a truly significant transaction for the entire Lehigh Valley community,” said in a prepared statement Vincent Ranalli of CBRE, who represented the property’s owner. “This site is part of the overall redevelopment of the former Bethlehem Steel Company properties. The neighborhood now includes Walmart, which recently leased 2.4 million square feet in two buildings; Crayola, which leased 800,000 square feet; and Zulily, which also leased 800,000 square feet
Located at 2485 Commerce Center Boulevard, the warehouse is close to Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York, which makes it a perfect location for distribution of product to customers in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. As previously reported by Commercial Property Executive, construction at the $38 million spec warehouse broke ground in July 2013 as part of a revitalization project that aimed to transform the former Bethlehem Steel complex into a new industrial complex called Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII. The development partners acquired the 40-acre site for approximately $6.4 million.
Image courtesy of CBRE