The Falls Township Board of Supervisors have set the wheels in motion for a pair of land development plans aimed at revitalizing portions of the township.
The board, during Monday’s hybrid meeting, voted unanimously to advance the next phase of the massive NorthPoint development project at the former U.S. Steel site. With the affirmative vote, the developer will begin constructing a 1 million-square-foot warehouse building at the Keystone Trade Center as part of its first phase.
Plans call for a 49-foot-high warehouse with 196 doors, 475 parking stalls, including 18 handicapped parking spaces. Trucks would enter the site primarily via Tyburn Road and Route 13.
The roughly 60-acre tract is located on the southwest side of River Road, near South Pennsylvania Avenue and Tyburn Road.
NorthPoint plans to construct up to 15 million square feet of warehousing on the 1,800-acre site, creating between 5,000 and 10,000 new jobs. The redevelopment project would be carried out over multiple phases with construction of 20 or more state-of-the-art industrial warehouse buildings for various Fortune 500 companies.
The developer will invest $1.5 billion into the transformation of the site. In all, the developer will spend an estimated $40 million to $45 million to remediate the site.
In other business, the Supervisors authorized a complete overhaul of a dilapidated, abandoned car lot on Lincoln Highway. The shuttered lot will be transformed into a self-storage facility.
The board voted unanimously to grant preliminary and final land development approval to Lincoln Highway Storage, LLC. The company plans to demolish the existing buildings at the former car lot, which is located at 957 Lincoln Highway, to make way for a self-storage facility, equipped with various improvements to parking, lighting and landscaping, a representative told the Supervisors.
The project entails the construction of two 30,000-square-foot two-story buildings and two one-story buildings totaling 15,310 square feet. In addition to a self-storage facility, the developer plans to build a supporting office area and upgrade existing stormwater management facilities.
Township engineer Joe Jones said the land development plans will definitely enhance the property, which is adjacent to TruckSmart and Michael’s Restaurant and Lounge.
“Something there finally is going to be good for this town,” Supervisors Chairman Jeff Dence said.
