A large tract in New Castle-Delaware City area that includes the former Stauffer Chemical plant has been sold to an industrial developer that hopes to add distribution center buildings on the site.
Colliers International’s Logistics and Transportation Solutions team of Mark Chubb, Michael Zerbe and Summer Coulter sold the site, a 190 acre parcel of industrially zoned land, on behalf of Akzo Nobel to Kansas City-based Northpoint Development.
The site is located at 1386 Schoolhouse Road in New Castle, Delaware and is mainly farmland with a small previously developed housing the now-closed Stauffer Chemical plant.
The site will be redeveloped by Northpoint as “Delaware City Logistics Park” (DCLP), featuring four industrial buildings totaling more than two million square feet of modern distribution and fulfillment space.
“This site fielded great interest as one uniquely capable of accommodating modern/ bulk industrial development and ability to service the needs of fulfillment, distribution and e-commerce users with a nearly equidistant central location to New York and Washington D.C. – and it is just 40 miles from Philadelphia. This means it can service millions of customers in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and beyond – approximately 43 percent o the US and 53% of the Canadian population reside within a day’s truck drive.” said Chubb, senior managing director of Colliers International. “It’s also well-known Delaware is a business-friendly state with low operating costs and taxes and that local and state governments are supportive in the attraction of new business.”
“We saw this property as a unique opportunity to capitalize on the positive momentum of the regional market and the limited supply of sites to accommodate large scale development. The strategic location and access to a plentiful and capable workforce provides a terrific opportunity for the modern industrial occupiers whose demands we are building to meet.” said Johan Henrikson, vice president of development with Northpoint.
The move represents Northpoint’s first investment in Delaware. The firm has been i active throughout the United States with 13.3 million square feet of industrial space currently under construction and 11.7 million square feet leased in the past year. Industrial clients of the development group include Amazon, The Home Depot, Staples, Chewy.com and Patagonia.
The transaction is the third major development to emerge in northern Delaware in recent years.
The former GM Boxwood plant is being demolished and is slated to be used as the site for logistics/distribution companies.
Work is also underway in Claymont on the redevelopment of the former Claymont Steel plant, which has been razed.
Delaware has lacked available sites for distribution/logistics centers, with neighboring Cecil County landing companies like Restoration Hardware and German grocer Lidl.
