Griffin Land buys 120,000 s/f ind. whse. and 51 acres in Lehigh Valley

Griffin Land & Nurseries, Inc. (Griffin) and its real estate division, Griffin Land have purchased a 120,000 s/f industrial warehouse located at 871 Nestle Way, Breinisgsville and 51 acres of land zoned for industrial development located off Fritch Dr. in Lower Nazareth. The transactions represent Griffin Land's entry into the Lehigh Valley industrial real estate market and are the first steps in its plans to expand its holdings outside of the company's core Connecticut market. "We are very pleased to have the opportunity to acquire these two properties in the Lehigh Valley market," said Michael Gamzon, vice president of Griffin. "We have studied the market for a number of years and these acquisitions provide Griffin with a strategic entry point to become a long‐term owner, developer and property manager in the area. Both properties are very well located, with excellent highway access in a strong industrial sub‐market." Griffin purchased these properties through separate auctions held by the bankruptcy trustee for the estate of Opus East, a defunct subsidiary of a national developer. 871 Nestle Way is a modern, warehouse facility built in 2007 with pre-cast concrete panels, 28 ft. clear‐height and 40 x 50 ft. column spacing. The site has ample employee parking, a truck court and additional trailer parking spaces. The building has visibility from I-78 and access onto the Rte. 100 and I-78 interchange. 871 Nestle Way is under a long‐term full building lease to Olympus Corporation of the Americas which uses the building as a distribution center for its medical products. The 51-acre site in Lower Nazareth has approvals to build 2 warehouses of 301,000 and 228,000 s/f for a total availability of 529,000 s/f. We anticipate that each warehouse will be constructed with pre-cast panels and have ample parking. The site also has the possibility of rail service from a Conrail line. The land is located off Brodhead Rd. in close proximity to Rte. 22 and key Lehigh Valley highways. Griffin expects to develop the site for build‐to‐suit opportunities and/or on speculation.