A storage and logistics company will expand its footprint in Bucks County.
U.S. Cold Storage Inc. said it will invest $41.5 million to enlarge its operations in Richland Township near Quakertown and add 60 jobs the next three years.
The company will expand its facility at 1050 Heller Road by 200,000 square feet and retain 613 statewide positions, according to a news release. The company plans to start hiring employees in August.
The company received a funding proposal from the state Department of Community & Economic Development that includes a $120,000 Pennsylvania First grant, $21,600 in funding for employee training and $120,000 in Job Creation Tax Credits to be distributed upon creation of the jobs, according to the release.
The Governor’s Action Team, a group of economic development professionals who report to the governor, coordinated the project, in collaboration with the Bucks County Economic Development Corp.
The company, based in Voorhees, N.J., also has a site in Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII in Bethlehem and another on Miller Circle in Bethlehem Township.
To meet growing demand, the company said it built a site in Richland Township in 2014.
“We were primarily involved with them in their first expansion,” said Robert Cormack, executive director of the Bucks County Economic Development Corp. “We were involved with them on their site selection for their first expansion. The incentives were all in place.”
At that time, the organization helped U.S. Cold Storage apply for the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program. The LERTA takes real estate taxes and abates them at a pro-rated amount over 10 years.
The funding incentive can be used for improvements, including new construction, to a property in that LERTA zone.
Cormack said his organization also introduced U.S. Cold Storage to the community.
The Governor’s Action Team took the lead in its second expansion, he added.
“I think this is an excellent opportunity,” Cormack said. “For the county, it adds new jobs and it’s always a positive thing for us.”
The facility stores refrigerated foods that are distributed across the U.S.
Company officials did not return requests for comment.
