Massive Development Could Bring 10K Jobs To Lower Bucks

FALLS TOWNSHIP, PA — A huge new development at the old U.S. Steel site could bring as many as 10,000 new industrial jobs to Bucks County, officials say.

Falls Township supervisors on Monday reviewed plans for the redevelopment of 10 million square feet on the property.

NorthPoint Development is in the process of buying more than 1,800 acres from U.S. Steel. The Missouri-based real estate and development company plans to build 20 or more industrial warehouse buildings on the property, according to plans submitted to the township.

Under the $1.5 billion plan, NorthPoint would rename the Keystone Industrial Port Complex to be the Keystone Trade Center, company spokesman Jed Momot told supervisors on Monday.

Once complete, the development would create 5,000-10,000 jobs, according to the company. They are hoping to bring major companies like Amazon, Walmart, UPS and FedEx to the site.

Supervisors on Monday heard a presentation from NorthPoint, but did not take any official action on the plan. They are scheduled to meet again next Monday, Dec. 14, when they are expected to vote on an overall developer's agreement for the project.

Jeff Dence, chairman of the Falls Township Board of Supervisors, said that in his two six-year terms, he has "heard every idea" proposed for the U.S. Steel site. The proposal from NorthPoint, he said, is different.

The company has meet weekly with township officials about the proposal since June, according to Dence.

"They're very serious," he said. "This isn't just an idea they have."

Momot said he expects a "very aggressive timeline" in Falls. A land development application could be submitted later this month, he said, and NorthPoint hopes to start construction on the project's first phase in spring 2021.

The company, he said, "builds the building without a tenant in mind."

"We know the market is there and we know the demand is there," Momot said.

Proponents say the U.S. Steel site is attractive to companies because of its closeness to Interstates 95 and 295 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, as well as its access to the port and rail.

The development would upgrade and update utilities and repave roads on the site. The company also plans landscaping and to spend $25 million on environmental remediation of the brownfield portion of the site.

No hazardous waste tenants would be accepted at the "light industrial" site.

Founded in 2012, NorthPoint Development is active in 24 states, with 355 employees and nine office locations. The U.S. Steel site would be the company's biggest project yet.

"It is a big project, even for us," Momot said. "But we're ready, willing and able to take it on."