Mericle is continuing its ReadyToGo!™ Program by developing four building pads in Grimes Industrial Park, Pittston Township.The parcels are located along Sathers Drive and are served by rail. Construction is well underway and Mericle expects to have the four pads substantially completed by late spring.
Mericle has designed industrial buildings ranging from 24,000 square feet to 112,800 square feet for the parcels and the four buildings will total approximately 260,000 square feet.
Mericle Vice President of Marketing Jim Cummings said proximity to active rail service will distinguish the Grimes parcels from most other available industrial sites in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
“There is a shortage of rail-served sites in our area,” he said. “Approximately 10% of all of the industrial inquiries we receive either prefer or require rail. Hopefully, preparing ReadyToGo!™ sites in Grimes Industrial Park will give us an edge when we are competing against other parts of the country for new projects.”
Cummings said the long term trend of rising fuel costs has forced companies to evaluate their shipping methods and routes. “Companies are constantly looking for more efficient and less expensive ways to ship and receive products,” he said. “Having a site with rail and good truck access gives them options that help them stay competitive.”
He said he expects the sites in Grimes to be attractive to a variety of industrial users including plastics and food manufacturers, logistics companies and trucking firms. Cummings estimated that when fully occupied, the four proposed buildings will house between 100 and 200 jobs.
Grimes Industrial Park was developed by Pittston Area Industrial Development (P.A.I.D.) the industrial development arm of the Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce. Major park tenants include TJX, Cascades Tissue Group, Penguin Putnam, CLC Air, Letica Corporation, and FedEx Express. More than 3.4 million square feet of industrial and flex space has been constructed in the park.
Chamber President Attorney Joseph Burke said with Mericle’s development of ReadyToGo!™ Sites in Grimes Industrial Park, the Pittston area will be home to two business parks with available rail-served sites. “Mericle’s parcels add to those the Chamber recently developed in the Duryea KOZ Business Park,” he said. “This puts Greater Pittston in an enviable position whenever companies in need of sites with rail tour Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
The 44.59-acre Duryea KOZ Business Park is located just off McAlpine Street in Duryea Borough, approximately two miles from Interstate 81.
For its ReadyToGo!™ Sites, Mericle obtains all permits and full subdivision, land development, and utility approvals. In most cases, Mericle completes all grading, including the placement of compacted stone sub-base in the building and pavement areas and makes the parcels completely ready for immediate construction.
To date, Mericle has completed ReadyToGo!™ Sites in CenterPoint Commerce & Trade Park East, CenterPoint Commerce & Trade Park West, East Mountain Corporate Center and Jessup Small Business Center. In addition to the new work in Grimes Industrial Park, Mericle plans to prepare two large ReadyToGo!™ Sites in Humboldt Industrial Park in Hazle Township in 2013. Altogether, Mericle plans to develop 90 ReadyToGo!™ Sites in 10 Northeastern Pennsylvania business parks and will construct speculative industrial, flex, and office buildings on many of those sites.
Cummings said Mericle has designed the ReadyToGo!™ Program for small and large businesses needing manufacturing, distribution, office, or medical space.
Founded by Robert K. Mericle, Mericle Construction Inc. self-performs virtually all aspects of development and construction, using its own in-house personnel, Mericle Construction is better able to control costs and fast track delivery schedules to meet its clients’ needs. It fashions itself as a throwback to the “master builder” of old when experienced craftsmen self-performed all aspects of the construction process.
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