Development at former Harley site unveiled

On Friday, the flat stretch of land off Route 30 near York got a new name – the Eden Road Logistics Center – as it was dedicated as “a modern, Class-A bulk distribution facility.”

York County government, business and community leaders gathered to dedicate the new 750,000-square-foot distribution center, on the 58-acre former Harley-Davidson West Campus in Springettsbury Township.

“This is a showcase project … a poster child for economic development,” said Loren Kroh, interim president and CEO of the York County Economic Alliance, the county’s economic-development organization.

York-based Stewart & Tate Construction built the new center for NorthPoint Development LLC of Kansas City, which last year purchased the property from the York County Industrial Development Authority for $4.5 million.

And NorthPoint official Larry Lapinski told the officials at the ceremony that a tenant has been secured to occupy 600,000 square feet of the building, or roughly 80 percent of possible lease space.

The tenant asked not to be identified publicly, Lapinski said. The tenant is aiming to occupy its site by January, YCEA officials said Friday.

“Anytime you’re building a ‘spec’ building, on a speculative basis, with no specific tenant in mind, there’s an inherent amount of risk,” said Lapinski, NorthPoint’s vice president of development.

“When you go look for projects, you really look for three things: you look at the transportation network; you look for a great labor market; and you look for a community where your investment is welcomed,” Lapinski said.

This one checked off all of those boxes, he said.

‘You want to do what?’

Working on the old industrial site presented environmental, drainage and other challenges, Lapinski continued: “I’m not going to sugarcoat it, this site was a very tough site when my company first approached me about this project, I said, ‘You want to do what?’”

Lapinski jokingly said he had predicted months ago that Friday would be a perfect day to hold the ceremony.

“I think we nailed that prediction. I think we also nailed the prediction that York would be a great community and partner, and a great place to build such a facility.”

Officials did not disclose the cost of construction for the new facility.

The dedication ended a several-year journey to get a new use for the site since Harley-Davidson began exploring the possibility of building a new facility elsewhere in the U.S.

Harley stayed and began constructing its new factory, and York County leaders began working to prepare the West Campus for a future user.