Despite high fuel costs and supply chain issues, Newmark Real Estate said the I-81/78 industrial market remains strong. 

Consumer demand is driving the warehouse boom in Central Pennsylvania and Lehigh Valley with ecommerce companies leasing more than half of the space.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission has expressed serious concern over a proposal to bring three warehouse buildings, totaling more than 2.6 million square feet to the property along Hamilton Boulevard that formerly served as the headquarters of Air Products. 

The rapid growth in the Lehigh Valley is a balancing act for those tasked with approving projects and improving roads and infrastructure. 

According to a recent study of the top 11 regions in the country, there has been a 25% increase in growth in demand for Lehigh Valley commercial and industrial space since the global financial crises of 2007-2009.

ASB Real Estate Investments (ASB) has acquired Lehigh Valley West Industrial Portfolio, Berks County, for $77.6 million in a joint venture with an affiliate of Endurance Real Estate Group (Endurance).  

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission is now working to join municipalities together to coordinate their municipal plans, a move that could place industrial growth where it can be supported while leaving rural areas free from development. 

The recent sale of about 30 acres of farmland in Forks Township could prompt the development of a new warehouse or other type of industrial use on the land.

A real estate company with a 26-million-square-foot industrial portfolio in Pennsylvania, many of them properties throughout Lehigh Valley and Central Pennsylvania, could merge with a San Francisco-based multinational real estate investment trust.

While a decline in spec development would signify there’s less demand for space and less confidence in the market, CBRE reported strong demand based on interest from those tenants looking for larger space.