Three Companies Embrace KOEZ Benefits at Bristol Commerce Center:
Preferred tax status attracts Turtle & Hughes, Drexel Metals and Goodyear to strategic Bucks County location
Herring Properties announced in September that three companies have signed leases and moved into 2101 Green Lane, the new 70,000 square foot building at Bristol Commerce Center (BCC). Goodyear Tire Company, Turtle & Hughes and Drexel Metals have joined Airgas Safety, which completed construction on a 250,000 SF facility at BCC last year, in taking advantage of the site’s Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone (KOEZ) designation.
Located strategically at the crossroads of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the New Jersey Turnpike, I-95 and Route 13, BCC is drawing interest to Bucks County for companies seeking new light manufacturing, distribution and warehouse space. Owned by a partnership run by Herring Properties, the 81-acre BCC campus on Green Lane in Bristol Township is one of few in Bucks County to receive official KOEZ designation from the State of Pennsylvania.
The KOEZ designation is highly attractive to companies looking for a new location, as it enables businesses to realize a full 10 years of abatement on: 1) real estate taxes for the building; 2) Pennsylvania Sales Taxes on materials and supplies; and 3) Pennsylvania Corporate taxes. The designation will run through 2022. To qualify for KOEZ designation from the State, Herring Properties sought and received approval from the Bristol Township School Board, the Bristol Township and the Bucks County Commissioners.
“We are very fortunate to have received KOEZ designation because it makes the site a highly sought after location for businesses to locate,” said Jamie Herring, Bristol Commerce Center’s Owner/Developer. “Once qualified businesses apply to the State to receive these tremendous state and local KOEZ tax abatements, they can follow the path taken by Airgas Safety, Goodyear and our other tenants to build a custom space on our well-located campus.”
Goodyear, which operated a service operational center nearby, occupies more than 26,000 square feet in the new BCC building. Drexel Metals has taken 17,000 square feet and Turtle & Hughes 14,000 square feet of the new facility.
“This site offers one of the few opportunities in Bucks County to construct buildings of the size we just completed for these new tenants – with KOEZ benefits as an added sweetener,” said Herring. “BCC is so well located next to major highways that it is very well positioned to attract or retain high caliber organizations in Bucks County for the long term.”
“In addition to the tax incentives, Goodyear chose to stay in Bristol Township to retain their “best talent” located in the region. “We were excited to stay in the Bucks County long-term and move our operations under one roof in a beautiful, new state of the art facility,” said John Hill, Manager, Goodyear.
Robert Cormack, Executive Director of Bucks County Economic Development Corporation, added: “We are very pleased that the Bristol Commerce Center has leveraged the KOEZ designation to retain quality companies like Goodyear and attract new companies to Pennsylvania like Drexel Metals and Turtle & Hughes. We look forward to continued growth in Bristol, including other companies building out the BCC campus with Herring Properties.
Additional Benefits of the Bristol Commerce Center
In addition to the KOEZ tax benefits, strategic location, and flexible uses, the park is equipped with data center power capacity making it ideal for Data Center users who require power, connectivity and location. Moreover, permits and approvals and pads are in place for all the proposed buildings, cutting about one year off the project time. The sites at BCC are flexible as the sites are built to suit. The remaining available spaces include a 250,000 SF and a 70,000 SF option, both of which can be multi-tenanted. Other current tenants on the campus include Airgas Safety, PetValu, Jacobson Warehouse, DS Waters and Bristol School District.
About Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zones
Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zones (KOEZ) are geographic areas that are virtually free of state and local taxes, providing businesses with one of the most powerful market-based incentives eliminating taxes. These include up to 100% abatement of state taxes such as corporate net income tax, personal income tax and sales and use tax and local taxes such as sales tax, and property tax. A KOEZ is also given priority for various state and local community-building assistance programs.
To become a qualified business, a business must simply: (1) own or lease real property in a KOZ/KOEZ from which it actively conducts a trade, profession, or business, and (2) obtain annual certification from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development by submitting a KOEZ application.
Background - Bristol Commerce Center
This property was formerly a 400,000 square foot tape factory owned by 3M. Herring Properties acquired it in 2002 and redeveloped it as a multi-tenant commerce park. Four additional lots were subdivided and an additional 640,000 square feet of industrial space was approved. The property has maintained high occupancy of existing buildings from shortly after completion. Colliers International’s Andrew McGhee is the exclusive leasing agent for Bristol Commerce Center.
About Herring Properties
Herring Properties, and its affiliates, have owned, developed and managed over 2,000,000 SF of space in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The principal, Jamie Herring, has over 30 years of real estate experience in these markets. In addition to Bristol Commerce Center, which includes a 400,000 SF industrial renovation and over 600,000 SF of development land, the partnership owns: two industrial buildings in NE Philadelphia; 26 acres of land on US I-95 in Ewing, New Jersey, which has development for over 200,000 SF of office buildings; and two office buildings in Princeton.
For more information contact James P. Herring, 908-874-5400, Ext. 800
jph@herringproperties.com
