An industrial development company could be planning a warehouse for the Amity Hall area of Watts Twp. in the near future.
Township supervisors will hold a hearing in April to take testimony on a proposed zoning amendment that would increase the height of warehouses allowed in the municipality’s industrial zones. The hearing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., April 6, at the Watts-Buffalo Community Center, 57 Blacksnake Road.
The amendment is being put forward by a company called MRPI Amity Hall LLC, according to Linus Fenicle, township solicitor. They want to amend the zoning ordinance to allow warehouses to be up to 60 feet high.
Current zoning ordinances cap building height at 35 feet for the industrial zones, which are all located in the southwestern part of the township off of Routes 11/15.
Fenicle said the company hasn’t yet filed subdivision or land development plans with the township, so it doesn’t know specifically what it could be proposing to build.
According to online business name clearinghouses, MRPI Amity Hall was incorporated in Delaware in October 2021. No other information is available on who owns the LLC.
However, the naming convention mirrors that of other warehouses that have been built around central Pennsylvania in recent years by the development company MRP Industrial, headquartered in Baltimore with an office in West Chester, Pa.
For example, MRPI Fulling Mill LLC, MRPI Hamburg LLC, and MRPI Heller Logistics LLC are all similar incorporations that correspond to warehousing projects from MRP Industrial. According to the company’s website, the Fulling Mill warehouses are in Middletown. The Hamburg project is three large warehouses in Berks County. The company also has warehouses in Carlisle.
The newspaper called the representative for MRP Industrial’s Pennsylvania markets and left a message but did not receive a reply.
The township supervisors have referred the zoning amendment to the planning commission for review. It met March 9. Following its recommendation, the supervisors could vote on the proposed height changes at the April 6 regular meeting.
Jim T. Ryan can be reached via email at [email protected]
