Target leases 331,428-square-foot Upper Merion warehouse built on spec

Source, Philadelphia Business Journal

Target Corp. has leased a 331,428-square-foot warehouse-distribution center in Upper Merion that was built on speculation, according to township officials.

Novaya Foxfield Industrial, an affiliate of Boston-based Novaya Real Estate Ventures, is building the structure at 900 River Road. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Target (NYSE: TGT) has bulked up on its distribution presence in the Philadelphia area. It leased a 1.1-million-square-foot building at Logan North Industrial Park, which is just over the Commodore Barry Bridge between Route 130 and I-295 in Logan, New Jersey. The retailer will use that facility for a concept for Target in that it serves traditional distribution in which products are delivered to a store as well as e-commerce distribution shipped directly to customers.

The Upper Merion distribution center is being developed on the former Johnson Matthey Inc. chemical plant property. Novaya Foxfield Industrial paid $8.8 million for the property and razed a series of buildings to make way for what it called the King of Prussia Logistics Hub.

River Road is near major highways including the Blue Route, Schuylkill Expressway, Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Northeast Extension and other regional arteries such as Route 202. It’s also close to many of the region’s population centers. The property sits less than a half-mile away from a 315,897-square-foot FedEx distribution center at 600 River Road.