ALLENTOWN, Pa. – As the region is running out of space for our growing warehouse industry, developers are looking to go up.
Becky Bradley is the Executive Director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission. She says in the last six months they have seen several proposals for high cube warehouses, which can be anywhere from 5 to 15 stories tall.
“And the tallest one we’re aware of that was proposed is 135 feet, so a little more than a 13-story building,” Bradley said.
Which can have good and bad implications on the community. On the one hand, these buildings will have less of a footprint, taking pressure off farmland.
“Instead of having maybe a 4-acre development, you could have a 1-acre development,” Bradley said.
However, they can change the look and feel of the community.
“If it’s up again like a larger typography, let’s say a giant hill or maybe even a mountain, it’s not gonna be as obvious,” Bradley said.
Which is why the planning commission is releasing a community guide to give municipalities the chance to rethink how they zone this type of development.
“It’s not good enough anymore to say hey we have a general industrial district and here is where all the industrial goes,” Bradley said.
