Massive Warehouse Approved on Former Steel Land

The Bethlehem Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously approved plans to build what may be the largest warehouse in the Lehigh Valley.

Though it has the approval in hand, the Majestic Realty Co. doesn’t intend to build its 1.75-million-square-foot shell until it has a tenant and right now, it does not, said Eric Scheler, district manager for Commerce Construction, an agent of Majestic.

This will be the second development in the Majestic Bethlehem Center, a 500-acre business park in the most remote eastern section of the old Bethlehem Steel complex.

As conceived the new building at 3215 Commerce Center Boulevard will be ideal for warehouse use, but could also be configured for light industrial or assembly, said Scheler. A typical user for this kind of building would be retailers or distributors of household goods, he said.

The lot design allows for more than 300 tractor trailers to access the warehouse at one time.

Planners granted four waivers for the project, including two involving the planting of street trees along the property. Majestic has contributed $75,000 to the city for trees and landscaping for Phase 4 of the South Bethlehem Greenway, which the city believes is of greater benefit than street trees in an industrial park, according to Tracy Samuelson, the city’s assistant planning director.

Majestic has also agreed to contribute as much as $50,000 toward upgrading a sewage pumping station.

According to The Morning Call, this warehouse will be nearly twice the size of the Nestle warehouse in Breinigsville. This will also be larger than a 1.2 million square foot warehouse Liberty Property Trust built last year in Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII, in another section of former Bethlehem Steel land.