PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—September 4, 2008— Thanks to a public/private partnership, the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA), the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market, and Essington Avenue Partners II, a development affiliate of O’Neill Properties, announced today that the Produce Market will relocate to Essington Avenue in Philadelphia. This relocation will retain 1,468 current jobs, create 375 new jobs, and enable the expansion and strategic growth plans of the Produce Market. “This private public partnership will preserve the Produce Market right where it belongs – in Philadelphia,” says Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell. “Without room for expansion and new, modern facilities, the Commonwealth risked losing this vital operation, and the vendors faced that sad reality that they would be forced to break up a South Philadelphia landmark. Instead, through the concerted efforts of the City, Senator Fumo’ s office, the PRPA, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, and many individuals, the Produce Market will be able to grow and thrive while adding 375 new high-paying jobs for working families and millions of dollars to the local and state economies.”
The total development cost of the project is $218.5 million. The Commonwealth is releasing $152.5 million to the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority to support the project, development, and relocation. The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority will purchase 63 acres, build a 667,000 square foot state-or-the-art distribution facility, and will sign a 40-year lease enabling the relocation. The Market vendors will repay 100% of the grants and loans over the life of the 40-year lease.
Without the agreement Philadelphia and Pennsylvania were at risk of losing what is considered an historic and economic regional staple. Several years ago, the Produce Market and the State of New Jersey were in advanced discussions to relocate the Market. This transaction ensures that the Produce Market will stay in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future.
According to analysis conducted by EConsult, it is estimated that the direct and indirect economic benefit to the region and tax revenues to the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth will exceed more than $10.8 billion over the life of the 40-year lease. “The new Produce Market will provide tremendous benefit to the local and state economies, as well as continuing to be a major hub for fresh produce imported and exported through the Port of Philadelphia,” said John H. Estey, Chairman of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority.
James T. McDermott Jr., Executive Director of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, said: “The PRPA is extremely pleased to be a major partner in this exciting economic development project. Retaining this important regional asset is a great accomplishment. We look forward to a productive and rewarding relationship with the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market.”
The Produce Market has deep roots and historic significance for Philadelphia. Produce trading goes back to the 1600s on Dock Street at the famed Head House Square. By the early 1800s, the produce industry had carved out an area that wholesalers and farmers would go to, exclusively, on Dock Street. It was a perfect area of the city to buy and trade all types of product due to the close proximity of the port and the newly extended rail lines. Paul Giordano of Giordano Produce, Jimmy Storey of Quaker City Produce, and John Vena of John Vena Produce all have businesses at the Produce Market that extend more than four generations back with grandfather’s starting the family business down on Dock Street in the late 1800s and early 1900s. “Many of the businesses at the market are small family-owned businesses that have been in continuous operation for several generations. My family’s business was started by my grandfather down on Dock Street in 1919 and today my son Daniel is representing the 4th generation,” says John Vena.
The Philadelphia Regional Produce Market is among the largest produce markets in the United States and supplies food as far north as Canada, as far south as the Carolinas, with a primary focus to serve the needs of the Greater Philadelphia region. The Produce Market also has an incredible outreach and charity mission. More than 1,000,000 pounds of food per year are donated to homeless shelters, schools in need, and non-profit organizations like Philabundance, the region’s largest hunger relief organization providing food to approximately 65,000 people per week. “Philabundance is grateful for the support from the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market and the year-round donations, said Bill Clark, president and executive director of Philabundance. “The Market is responsible for supplying the variety of produce donations our agencies require to put nutritious food on the table to the 900,000 people in need in the Delaware Valley.” Charity, public access, and educational tours will be ongoing and a central part of the spirit of the new Market.
The 667,000 square foot state-of the-art facility is nearly twice the size of its current facility and will be the first of its kind in the United States with a 100% fully refrigerated facility throughout the entire building. The new facility will prevent the cold chain from breaking from truck transport to loading docks to cold storage at the distribution center. The building will be constructed of steel, concrete, and insulated metal panels that are five inches thick to maintain the required refrigeration.
The new facility will feature 228 enclosed and fully refrigerated 50-foot wide dock areas, 40 foot ceiling heights, a skylight running the length and width of the building to provide natural lighting, a central walking concourse open to the public, second floor office space with secure access, ten entrances to the building and one main entrance for the public. The project also includes an 18,000 square foot auxiliary building for recycling pallets and food.
“Our new Philadelphia facilities will enable the produce market to compete and win in the global economy,” says Sonny DiCrecchio, executive director of the Philadelphia Regional Produce Market. “We believe that this facility will be without equal, and as a result we will be able to grow our business, add new jobs, attract new distribution opportunities, and enable Philadelphia to set the worldwide standard for best practices in the food distribution industry. Less than five minutes from three major interstates – Interstate 95, 476, and 76 – as well as Philadelphia’s International Airport, this new location enhances strategic distribution for all critical transportation methods including trucking, air freight, rail, and boat.”
Thirty-two vendors will relocate into the new 68 units. Each unit is 30’ wide and 140’ feet long, and each vendor will have independent access and control of its own refrigeration. This will enable customized settings, adjustments due to seasonality, and the flexibility to distribute multiple types of food from a single facility.
First phase of the site work will begin in September and the completion is anticipated to occur within 23 months. Like many of O’Neill developments, this is a brownfield site that will be revitalized. The site was a former conglomeration of 5 junk and scrap yards. Essington Avenue Partners II (EAPII) has entered into a voluntary agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection with remedial activities consisting of removal of all surface debris including 400,000 tires, scrap metal in the form of auto carcasses, trailers and buses. EAPII has an approved clean up plan for the remainder of the site in preparation for the development of the new facility.
The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority will issue regular updates on the progress of the new Philadelphia Regional Produce Market as it is constructed.
ABOUT PHILADELPHIA REGIONAL PORT AUTHORITY The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, has as its primary mission the enhancement of water-borne trade and commerce. PRPA was created by an act of the Pennsylvania legislature in 1989. As an organization committed to economic development and job creation, the Authority seeks to generate activity that will maximize port-related employment and revenues by promoting the use of the Philadelphia regional port system by Pennsylvania based industries. It is also committed to working in a cooperative spirit with other Delaware River port and City agencies to realize the potential of the regional port system. Port cargoes and the activity they generate are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania.
ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (PIDC) The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, a private, not-for-profit corporation, was created in 1958 by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the Commerce Department of the City of Philadelphia to promote economic development and job creation throughout the City. PIDC provides financing programs and real estate products to business and developer client groups in all neighborhoods of Philadelphia.
ABOUT O’NEILL PROPERTIES GROUP
O'Neill Properties is a leading national real estate investment and development company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pa., which is developing a portfolio it currently values at over $1 billion. The company focuses on development of mixed-use; retail; Class A office space and luxury multi-family residential housing in the Northeast through the recycling and renovation of surplus brownfield industrial and military real estate. The portfolio includes significant residential, mixed-use, retail and commercial land development projects, which include the development of over 10,000 residential units, and when completed will increase the portfolio’s value to more than $4 billion. O’Neill Properties has completed development of over
13 million square feet of office space, 700 apartments, and currently has over 2 million square feet of mixed-use and residential developments under construction. (www.ONeillProperties.com)
For further information on PIDC, contact Peter S. Longstreth, President, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, 2600 Centre Square West, 1500 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19102-2126, phone (215) 496-8181.
