$218M Produce Center Breaks Ground

PHILADELPHIA-The Philadelphia Regional Produce Market’s six-year search for new facilities ended Thursday with a groundbreaking ceremony at a brownfield site here, attended by Mayor Michael Nutter and other city and commonwealth officials. Essington Avenue Partners II, a development affiliate of O’Neill Properties, will begin site work later this month on a planned 667,000-sf distribution facility located in 6700 Essington Ave. in south Philadelphia, Rosemarie Console, VP of marketing and business development at O’Neill, tells GlobeSt.com.

According to a news release from state Sen. Vincent Fumo (D-Philadelphia), who was a key figure in negotiations that led to the new site, the $218.5-million project will occupy a 48.6-acre parcel of land, with another 15-acre parcel nearby to be used as a parking/staging area. The project’s landlord, the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, will receive $152.5 million of that total from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, according to a PRPA release.

As reported last week on GlobeSt.com, the deal calls for the PRPA to purchase 63 acres, build a 667,000 sf distribution facility and sign a 40-year lease enabling the relocation. Vendors will repay 100% of the grants and loans over the life of the 40-year lease, according to the PRPA.