Lehigh Valley Trade Center nears completion; quarry saved

Lehigh Valley Trade Center (LVTC) is nearing completion in Bethlehem, and developer Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) has donated one parcel to D.I.V.E. LLC to continue scuba diving training at the former Dutch Springs.  

Trammell Crow Co. (TCC), a commercial real estate developer, and Clarion Partners, said the LVTC II, with 527,000 square feet of Class A warehouse/distribution space is almost complete and the nearby LVTC III, with 588,000 square feet is expected to be completed in late 2023. 

Located at 4939 Hanoverville Road, LVTC II, which is currently leasing, is a single-story, cross-dock facility on a 37.8-acre site. The single-story building features 40-foot ceilings, 119 dock doors, four drive-in doors, 250 vehicle parking spaces and 154 trailer parking spaces, the company said. It also has LED lighting and an ESFR sprinkler system. 

LVTC III, located at 4733 Hanoverville Road, includes two single-story facilities featuring best-in-class clear heights, dock doors and parking ratios.  

LVTC III sits on three parcels of land, one of which was donated by TCC to allow scuba diving to continue at the quarry lake on the site. Formerly known as Dutch Springs, Lake Hydra will be operated by D.I.V.E. LLC for recreation divers and first responders, who utilize the lake as a training facility.   

 “D.I.V.E. LLC would like to commend TCC and Clarion Partners for their forward thinking and generosity in their donation of the lake. Without their team’s support and understanding, scuba diving in our community would have been lost. It was a pleasure to work with developers who invest back into the communities in which they operate,” said Ken Kraft and Jim Folk of DIVE.  

 “Along with Clarion, TCC was pleased to have worked with the community and with Ken and Jim from DIVE LLC. to donate a parcel of land to keep the quarry open for divers. We wish their business great success and look forward to our continued partnership and moving forward in construction process for Phase III,” said Matt Nunn, principal with TCC’s Northeast Metro team. 

Clarion is also pleased the quarry could be maintained. “Clarion is delighted to have worked with TCC in creating a mutually beneficial solution for the parties involved, allowing for the newly named Lake Hydra to continue serving the diving community, as well to be utilized for training purposes for first responders,” said Clarion Partners Vice President Guilherme Palocci. “We are looking forward to building the new phase of the project in this strategic distribution location.”   

Peak Construction is acting as the general contractor for LVTC and KSS Architects is designing the facility.   

LVTC II and III mark the next phases of development at the 1.2-million-square-foot Lehigh Valley Trade Center industrial park, which was built by TCC in 2016 and is currently owned by Clarion.