Tim Mekeel, Lancaster Online
An East Hempfield Township farm at State Road and Route 283 has drawn the attention of developers for decades.
Since 1980, developers have envisioned it as the future site of everything from a hot-dog factory to a new town (with its own train station), a package-delivery terminal and an aquatic center.
None panned out, for various reasons. But now something has.
A developer is constructing an immense distribution center — bigger than Spooky Nook Sports — for Kellogg on the property, LNP has learned.
The company on Wednesday acknowledged that it will be leasing the site, ending a year of secrecy about the occupant of the jumbo structure.
“Kellogg can confirm tenancy,” said an anonymous spokesman for the company — which not coincidentally has a cereal-manufacturing plant across the street.
Construction began in the fall. A November opening is expected. Public records indicate the project cost will be at least $40 million.
A township official said the 905,000-square-foot facility is expected to have 125 employees; others have pegged the future workforce at 150.
More to come next door
The distribution center will anchor an 88-acre development named State Road Commerce Park, proposed by Lancaster developer Phil Frey and his three siblings.
The single, big distribution center is the third version of the park to be filed by the Freys with the township since 2015, as they adjusted their plan to meet the needs of prospective tenants.
Its proximity to Route 283 is being enhanced with a two-year, $18.5 million project replacing the bridges over Route 283 and Amtrak tracks. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is doing the work.
And the site is zoned for development.
Handling the sale of the land to Clarion Partners was Mike Wagner of U.S. Commercial Realty, Patrick Lafferty of CBRE and Gerry Blinebury at Cushman & Wakefield. Wagner said he didn’t know who the tenant is.
State Road Commerce Park was preceded by at least four potential uses, according to LNP files.
The hot-dog plant, announced by Kunzler & Co. in 1980, would have replaced its Manor Street site. The new town named Independence was proposed by Charter Homes in 2005.
A year later, Federal Express proposed a regional hub there for its FedEx Ground operation. In 2015, developers of a regional aquatic center, with swimming pools and stores, eyed the site.