A new PhilaPort distribution center will add more than 200,000 square feet of flexible, food-grade storage within one mile of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and senior PhilaPort leadership joined a groundbreaking ceremony March 4 for the new near-dock warehouse, according to a news release.
“In the plan to grow The Port of Philadelphia as rapidly as possible, this new warehouse is a critical component,” Wolf said in the release. “As a result of our infrastructure improvements, the same large ships that have been calling neighboring ports can now call The Port of Philadelphia.”
In 2020, the port moved a record 640,000 units of 20-foot-long containers and achieved 7% growth during a difficult global economic environment, according to the release. Compound annual growth over the past 10 years has been 10%.
The $42 million, 201,621-square-foot building is a critical step in the development the region’s main container terminal, helping attract new shippers and ocean lines.
Holt Logistics Corp. will be the operator of the new building, which will serve as a major adjunct to the container operations at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal.
This new warehouse will allow the Holt organization to get containers off the terminal and rapidly unloaded into the facility. Containers can then be returned directly to the marine terminal or moved to a Pennsylvania factory to be loaded with exports, further expanding opportunities for local and regional commerce.
“As a marine terminal operator, one of the main pillars of our service profile is velocity. Today’s shippers demand it. It is essential to our aspirations to grow The Port of Philadelphia’s throughput by 100%,” Leo Holt, president of Holt Logistics, said in the release.
A planned second development phase includes a 217,000-square-foot refrigerated building. The Port Authority is also planning road and rail improvements to also increase cargo velocity to the final customer.
Finally, PhilaPort is planning terminal reconfigurations to allow more container moves per acre, per year.
