A rendering of the planned Lehigh North industrial campus in Bushkill Township. (courtesy of Bridge Development Partners)

Two firms have announced they will partner on the development of Lehigh North, a 427,919-square-foot industrial campus on a 60-acre site in Bushkill Township.

Bridge Development Partners and Link Logistics Real Estate earlier this month announced plans for the campus at 428 East Moorestown Road. Construction was to begin this month, with completion expected in December.

This marks Bridge’s first development project in Pennsylvania, though the first previously oversaw the construction of Bridge Point 78, a 3.85 million-square-foot industrial campus comprising six state-of-the-art industrial facilities in Phillipsburg, N.J.

“The acquisition of the future Lehigh North property is a milestone for BRIDGE, as it marks our first development in the state of Pennsylvania,” said Jeff Milanaik, Bridge’s Northeast Region Partner, who will be overseeing the Lehigh North project.

“The Lehigh Valley continues to distinguish itself as one of the country’s most vital distribution and logistics hubs, which was critical to our success at nearby Bridge Point 78,” Milanaik said. “We are extremely excited to continue our budding partnership with Link Logistics to introduce this state-of-the-art facility to meet the incredible demand for industrial space in this area, and play a continued role in the return of jobs and economic vitality to the entire region.”

Linda Moss of the commercial real estate research organization CoStar wrote that the Lehigh Valley is a hot spot for such projects.

“With space for industrial development scant and state-of-the-art logistics properties scarce in North Jersey, real estate firms have gone south and west to build warehouse and distribution hubs,” Moss wrote. “That’s sparked a flood of development in the Lehigh Valley, a region that borders and includes part of the Garden State but mainly encompasses Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton in Pennsylvania.”

The future Lehigh North facility is ideally positioned, sitting equidistant between Route 78 and Allentown, with easy connectivity to Route 33 through the Northampton Valley, according to Bridge Development Partners.

This is the second project of this type that Bridge has conducted with Link Logistics. In 2019, the two companies also partnered to develop a 95,000-square-foot industrial facility in Lyndhurst, N.J., according to Britton Winterer, Executive Vice President, Head of Development at Link Logistics.

“We are excited to partner with BRIDGE to develop this state-of-the-art industrial facility, which helps us meet the area’s high level of demand for logistics real estate,” Winterer said. “The Lehigh North project will be an excellent addition to our existing Lehigh Valley portfolio, which totals more than 16 million square feet of high-quality, well-located industrial product.”

Bridge is based in Chicago, while Link Logistics is based in New York City.

Bridge assigned the contract for the vacant site to Link Logistics after securing all of the necessary development approvals. Link Logistics has retained Bridge to provide development management services and construct the facility on their behalf.

Phase I of Bridge Point 78 was recently purchased by PGIM Real Estate and boasts both global Japanese clothing manufacturer and retailer Uniqlo, leading beverage distributor Mark Anthony Brands, and lawn care manufacturer ScottsMiracle-Gro as tenants.  

Lehigh North will feature 36-foot clear heights, a cross docked configuration for its 73 exterior docks, four drive-in doors, 100 trailer positions, and parking for 187 cars, according to Bridge.

Mark Calabro of Weichert Commercial Brokerage, Inc. represented the landowner in the transaction. Link Logistics and BRIDGE will select leasing brokers for Lehigh North in early 2021.