A site in Upper Saucon Township that could soon hold a large warehouse complex has been sold for $150 million.<\/p>\n
Lehigh County property records show the 118-acre parcel along East Valley Road was sold in September to Lehigh E Valley RD IND Owner from Kay-Lehigh LLC.<\/p>\n
Lehigh E Valley, a limited liability company in Clayton, Missouri, is owned by Panattoni Development, which describes itself as \u201cone of the largest privately held, full-service real estate development companies in the world\u201d on its website.<\/p>\n
Upper Saucon Manager Thomas Beil said the township has already approved 309 Commerce Center, a complex consisting of three warehouses totaling 1.77 million square feet. The land is near Route 309 and Center Valley Parkway.<\/p>\n
Beil said dirt is already being moved for the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey haven\u2019t started on construction of the warehouse,\u201d Beil told The Morning Call on Monday, \u201cbut they\u2019re doing all the public improvements and everything that you need to do before you start work on the warehouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Panattoni makes any changes to the project, it must go through the township, Beil said.<\/p>\n
Johan Henriksen, a Panattoni partner who runs the firm\u2019s Lehigh Valley office, was not immediately available for comment.<\/p>\n
Kay-Lehigh, which bought the land in 2020 for $21 million, moved the proposal through the approval process. It was met with skepticism from some Upper Saucon residents<\/a> during meetings in 2023. They were concerned about increased truck traffic and whether Route 309 was capable of handling it.<\/p>\n Township officials said there was little they could do to stop the development. The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission lauded the proposal<\/a> because the location fits into its regional plan, as Route 309 is a major road that provides a direct link to Interstate 78.<\/p>\n