Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services, the largest private developer of industrial space along the I-81 Corridor, is starting the New Year by constructing three multi-million dollar speculative buildings in Luzerne County.
The three projects are actively under construction. Steel is being erected for a 410,000 SF building located at 2 North Park Drive in Humboldt Industrial Park North, Hazle Township. The building has immediate access to the park’s active rail line and can be expanded to 606,800 SF. The facility has been designed to accommodate warehousing and manufacturing companies. “Our new building in Humboldt offers excellent access to Interstates 80 and 81 and is located in a Keystone Opportunity Zone, with virtually all state and local taxes abated through December 31, 2010,” said Mericle Vice President of Marketing Jim Cummings.
With the 2 North Park Drive project Mericle will have built 12 facilities totaling more than four million square feet in Humboldt Industrial Park.
The other two projects are underway in CenterPoint Commerce & Trade Park East in Jenkins Township. The foundation is in place and steel has been erected for a new 84,000 square foot flex building on CenterPoint Boulevard. The building has been designed to accommodate office, warehousing and light manufacturing companies and can be subdivided to as small as 6,000 SF.
Mericle has finished site work and will soon begin erecting steel for a 217,000 square foot industrial building on CenterPoint Boulevard. This building will be similar in design to an adjacent 254,200 square foot building, which was also built by Mericle on speculation and completed in December. Both have been designed with high ceilings and many loading doors, which make them suitable for warehousing and other industrial uses.
Mericle’s progress in CenterPoint marks the company’s commitment to honor its pledge to Governor Rendell to make the park one of the premier business locations in Pennsylvania. The two newest buildings will be the 8th and 9th constructed in just over two years and will bring the total square feet built in the park to approximately 3.6 million. Tenants include Lowes, FedEx Ground, Kane Warehousing, Entenmanns, and Men’s Wearhouse.
CenterPoint Commerce & Trade Park provides immediate access to Exit 175 of I-81 and Exit 115 of I-476, and all buildings in the park are LERTA-approved. LERTA allows for a 100% tax-abatement on all improvement for up to 10 years.
Founded by Robert K. Mericle, Mericle Construction Inc. self-performs virtually all aspects of development and construction, using its own in-house personnel, Mericle Construction is better able to control costs and fast track delivery schedules to meet its clients’ needs. It fashions itself as a throwback to the “master builder” of old when experienced craftsmen self-performed all aspects of the construction process.