Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services has begun constructing a 25,200 square foot Class A speculative office building at the main entrance of the Corporate Center at East Mountain in Plains Township, Luzerne County.
The building is being constructed on a 6.15 acre site at 1175 East Mountain Boulevard. Mericle has designed the building to be single-story with a brick exterior, large windows, a large parking area, Class A interior finishes, and professional landscaping.
The new facility will be the sixth constructed on speculation by Mericle in the Corporate Center at East Mountain and the third since the company announced a multi-year development plan in 2008 to construct 11 office buildings in the park. The buildings will range in size from 15,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet and most will be constructed on speculation.
Mericle expects the building to attract medical professionals and financial and business services firms.
The company’s Vice President of Marketing Jim Cummings said the new building can be subdivided to as small as 3,000 square feet. “The building will have multiple entrances, which will allow us to be very flexible when it comes to accommodating the space needs of individual tenants,” he said.
Cummings estimates the new office building will support approximately 125 jobs when fully leased.
He cited the office park’s utility service and prime location as factors that will help attract new firms. “East Mountain is a PPL Ultra Service park and is also served by fiber optics from multiple telecommunications vendors, he said. Many office companies require access to very reliable power and telecom service, which we have here.”
“More than 460,000 people live within 20 miles of the park and access is excellent from I-81 and I-476,” added Cummings. “The location enhances the ability of companies to attract skilled workers.”
The last spec building Mericle constructed in the park, a 24,000 square foot building at 660 Baltimore Drive, has just one 5,870 square foot suite available for lease.
The buildings constructed by Mericle in the Corporate Center at East Mountain total 220,785 square feet. More than 1,000 people work in those buildings. Mericle’s park tenants include RCN, C3i, Merrill Lynch, Citadel Communications, Yellow Book, Hospice of the Sacred Heart, Geisinger, Jacobi Capital Management, and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. Mericle also has its corporate headquarters in the park.
Founded by Robert K. Mericle in 1985, Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services has developed more than 19 million square feet of industrial, office and flex space. More than 13,400 people work in the buildings developed by Mericle in Northeastern Pennsylvania.