Tens of millions of square feet of warehouse space have sprung up in the Philadelphia region in recent years to meet the insatiable demand for online shopping. It is altering the workforce, reshaping communities by devouring farmland, channeling truck traffic to country roads, creating environmental worries — and, more recently, sparking pushback from neighbors who say they’ve had enough. Just since 2020, about 55 million square feet of warehouse space has been built or is under construction in the nine-county Philly region, including New Jersey suburbs. The region has 188 warehouses larger than 20,000 square feet, which is slightly bigger than a suburban Walgreens. Industrial real estate analysts say warehouse construction might have peaked, at least for now. “While debt was cheap, there was a big outlay of new construction projects [and at the same time] it looked like supply almost was never going to catch up with demand,” said Adam Gorodesky, vice president of Colliers’ industrial brokerage for the Philadelphia area. “The fundamentals are definitely still strong, but it looks like supply is definitely going to outpace demand for a while.” Numerous proposals are pending before local land use boards, and in some communities, residents are fighting against them. Read more in the Inquirer.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 5/28/2024