DP Readies 550,184-SF Spec LogistiCenter

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CARLISLE, PA-Reno, NV-based DP Partners is nearing completion of its second speculative warehouse facility at its 246-acre master-planned LogistiCenter site here. This is a 550,184-sf facility, scheduled for delivery this September.

The asking rental rate is $4.25 per sf, Michael J. Alderman, DP’s director of leasing for the mid-Atlantic region, tells GlobeSt.com. That compares with rates of between $3.75 per sf and $4 per sf in this area at the time the first building–an 806,474 sf facility–was nearing completion this February. “There has been upward pressure on rates in Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley over the past six months,” Alderman says, and he attributes it to rising demand.

Bookseller Borders Group inked a lease for 600,000 sf in the first building, and the remainder is vacant. Nevertheless, Alderman says DP plans to break ground on another spec facility early next year. “Our preferred development format is to build speculatively,” he says, adding, “if a build-to-suit opportunity arose, we would pursue it.”

Another 2.7 million sf will be developed in five future buildings, according to Alderman. They will range from 231,000 sf to 1.4 million sf.

The LogistiCenter at Carlisle is a designated Foreign Trade Zone, which Aaron Paris, DP’s EVP and COO, says, “can save park tenants money on international cargo shipments and manufacturing and distribution operations.” Within this FTZ, foreign and domestic merchandise may be stored, repackaged, manufactured and manipulated in a variety of ways and re-exported without the usual formal customs entry procedures.

Alderman says he is not specifically targeting companies involved in foreign trade. “But we do think the FTZ designation is a valuable plus, since so many tenants are involved in import/export.”