Plans for 1 million-square-foot warehouse in Centre County scrapped
A massive, one million-square-foot warehouse in Benner Township is no longer being proposed, as the developer withdrew the plans Tuesday.
Brian Dunn, of SunCap Property Group, sent a formal withdrawal request to the Centre County Planning Office Tuesday. The office received it Wednesday.
“On behalf of our client, we request a formal withdrawal of the land development plan application for the Bellefonte Warehouse located on tax parcels 12-5-500Y, 12-5-500L, and 12-5-500X,” Dunn wrote in the letter.
Dunn did not provide a reason as to why their client — who still remains unknown — withdrew the plans.
During a Centre County Commissioners meeting last week, Christopher Schnure, Centre County’s subdivision and land development planner, presented a final land development plan for a “Benner Warehouse.” The plan showed the development of a 1,080,289-square-foot fulfillment center warehouse on 103 acres of land at the end of Penntech Drive in the Benner Commerce Park. It was estimated to bring nearly 700 jobs and be one of the largest private employers in Centre County.
During that April 19 meeting, representatives of SunCap Property Group, the developer of the project, declined to share who the end user of the warehouse would be, stating they were under nondisclosure agreements.
SunCap did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday evening.
Earlier this week, Commissioner Steve Dershem raised concerns about not knowing who the end user would be. He said he’s supportive of businesses and private property land use, “but a million square feet impacts a lot more than just the footprint of that building.”
“We don’t know who this is. We learned last week that there was a nondisclosure agreement that was in place. So, my second part of my, I guess, curiosity is what manner of commerce will they be conducting in this facility?” Dershem said “… I have some concern (about) what it is that they are going to be transporting, what they are going to be shipping, what are they going to be warehousing. At the level that this is, I think we deserve some answers as a community.”
Commissioner Michael Pipe said this was the first time they had a developer with a nondisclosure agreement on the front end of a project. All they knew is that it was supposed to be a warehouse for e-commerce.
Benner Township resident David Roberts also shared concerns with the commissioners on behalf of the Moshannon Group of the Sierra Club and the Nittany Valley Environmental Coalition. They had “serious environmental concerns” about the project, Roberts said, because it will impact the Class A wild trout waters of Logan Branch and the karst aquifers, water supplies and springs of Benner Township.
