Plans for a fulfillment center warehouse in Benner Township are back on the table, but at a much smaller scale than previously proposed.
A sketch plan submitted by developer SunCap Property Group envisions a 123,000 to 130,000 square foot facility on a single 46-acre lot on Penntech Drive in Benner Commerce Park, Centre County subdivision and land development planner Christopher Schnure told the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday morning.
Previous plans that were later withdrawn called for a 1-million-square-foot warehouse on three consolidated lots totaling 103 acres.
SunCap Executive Vice President Matt Virgin, who previously cited nondisclosure agreements, again said he could not comment on what company would be the end user of the facility or the reason for the size reduction.
“This will be a traditional warehouse use with a lot of different types of product inside,” Virgin said.
Board of Commissioners Chair Mark Higgins speculated that Amazon was the intended user.
“We continue to have growth in Centre County,” Higgins said. “Perhaps I’m assuming Amazon isn’t making any particular climate about the business climate here. I’m sure that sales online perhaps have slowed a little bit and perhaps in the short term at least they don’t need a million square feet. The 123 to 130 might meet their needs in the short term. Obviously speculation.”
Virgin said the number of people who would be employed by the warehouse will be included with the submission of a formal land development plan. Earlier plans for the larger warehouse projected nearly 700 people would be employed at the facility, which would have had 70 to 80 tractor trailer bays.
Brian Dunn, SunCap development associate, said he expects the company to have a pre-application meeting with the township for the land development in April.
“We are working tirelessly to better define the building footprint as well as the parking associated with the building,” Dunn said. “We anticipate a submittal as soon as we can and then we’ll be moving through the municipal process.”
The new sketch plan calls for the facility to be constructed in the same area as previous plans, at the end of Penntech Drive near the state police Rockview barracks.
A plan was first submitted in April 2022 for the warehouse and withdrawn just weeks after it became public. SunCap then submitted a similar plan in August 2022 and withdrew it on Feb. 9 of this year.
Commissioners on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding among the developer, township and county for the SunCap to reimburse the township for costs associated with township for reviewing, inspecting and approving engineering aspects of the new plan. The MOU does not constitute plan approval.
The warehouse would be the sixth developed lot in Benner Commerce Park since it opened in 2010. It is currently home to the state police barracks, Cleveland Brothers, SilcoTek, Happy Valley Blended Products and Homeland Manufacturing.
