$5.2M Will Expand Lumber Company

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ-Warren Lumber & Millwork Inc. is set to carry out a $5.2 million expansion program now that a financing package has been pulled together. The company, which has a half-dozen locations in Warren and Hunterdon counties, will establish a new operation on 14 acres in this Warren County seat. Located within this city’s urban enterprise zone, the project includes three new warehouses of 12,000 sf each and renovations to existing office and warehouse buildings on the site.

The bulk of the financing is in the form of a $3.9 million loan from Vista Bank. Also contributing to the package is a $1 million low-interest loan from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, tied to the project’s creation of 40 new jobs. EDA is providing the money through its Local Development Financing Fund at an interest rate of 5% for 10 years.

“The LDFF loan was the critical last piece needed to bring together the financing for this very substantial business expansion,” according to Caren S. Franzini, executive director of the EDA. “Job creation is one of the most important criteria in determining EDA financing.