BETHLEHEM, Pa., Nov. 11, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Drive west out of New Jersey along Interstate 78, right across the state border, and you'll arrive in the burgeoning Lehigh Valley area, the third most populated region in Pennsylvania. The Lehigh Valley is located within a two-hour drive of the Poconos, the New Jersey shore, New York City and Philadelphia. Anchored by Northampton and Lehigh Counties, which contain the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, the area is strategically located for businesses and residents. It is within 100 miles of over 30,000,000 people and within a days' drive of 1/3 of the United States and 1/2 of Canada's consumer base. This, coupled with a highly accessible interstate road network, has helped create a home for increasingly diverse business clusters which focus on services and technology.
The region is home to over 630,000 people and includes 11 colleges and universities (Lehigh, Lafayette, Moravian and Muhlenberg to name a few) which enroll over 50,000 students. Services and amenities for the residents abound. New job creation over the last 10 years has increased over 18%. It also boasts a highly educated labor force. A sampling of companies that have a significant presence in the Lehigh Valley include Air Products, B. Braun, Guardian Insurance, Olympus, Orasure Technologies, Pennsylvania Power and Light, Sands Casino, and Victaulic to name a few. It has also become a distribution hub for the mid-Atlantic region.
"Part of the Lehigh Valley's allure is its proximity and accessibility to major cities and regional markets," says Michael Bartolacci, Senior Vice President, who heads the Lehigh Valley office of The Garibaldi Group, a leading commercial real estate broker in the area. Located along the Boston/D.C. corridor, major trucking routes crisscross the region, including I-78 and U.S. Rte. 22. There is also close proximity to Interstates 80 and 81. The Lehigh Valley has its own international airport and is also within a 90 minute drive of 4 others. These conditions, coupled with a strong labor force, high quality of life, lower cost of living, committed state and local economic development agencies, have been favorable for the office, manufacturing and distribution warehouse markets.
Mr. Bartolacci, along with his colleague Jerry Moore, Managing Director who runs Garibaldi's financial services platform should know -- they have been prominent names in the region's commercial real estate market for almost a decade. One recent example of their success comes from a company that recently consolidated regional distribution operations. Michael and Jerry were able to quickly identify, and negotiate 420,000 square feet of warehouse space on behalf of B&G Foods, which is now located in Prologis Park. This entire process was completed in a very aggressive timeframe, less than 2 months. "We were fortunate in working with our customer to identify a clear set of goals and implement them in a timely manner." states Mr. Bartolacci.
Along with this knowledge comes a significant understanding of local and regional market pricing. "Completing economic comparative analyses is an important part of our job," states Mr. Moore. "Our clients know that we'll find the best location, at the best price and will couple that with their business model to best meet their business and real estate needs." Just Born, Inc., the candy manufacturer also recently found this to be true. The Garibaldi Group identified a site, analyzed the financial fit, and completed the purchase of a 600,710 square foot warehouse for the company at a significant discount to the replacement cost -- all while relying on capital markets financing during a time when values were declining. Another recent success of the Garibaldi team was in the placement of "Linde Gas" in the 30,000 sq ft of Class A office space in the Greenwich Commons office building located along the Route 22 corridor in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. This transaction also involved the company president Jeff Garibaldi who along with Jerry Moore represented Linde Gas, while Michael Bartolacci represented the landlord Larken Associates.
As of the 2nd quarter of 2009, the Lehigh Valley office and industrial markets have seen activity albeit at a slower velocity and reduced rental rates. The Lehigh Valley industrial market encompasses 47,892,000 square feet of industrial buildings. The current vacancy rate is slightly over 12%. There has been over 2,000,000 square feet of new deals completed in the market in 2009. The average rental rate has dropped to $4.15 per square foot triple net.
The office market in the Lehigh Valley is comprised of 15,163,757 square feet of Class A and B space. The current vacancy rate is 12.91%. Average gross rental rates in the Valley for Class A space is $24.16 per square foot and for Class B space is $18.95 per square foot.
Since the inception of the Lehigh Valley office for the Garibaldi Group in 2002, the team has compiled a track record of leasing or selling over 5,000,000 square feet of industrial space, 250,000 square feet of office space and over 800 acres of land resulting in a transaction value of over $300 million. The Lehigh Valley has become a highly desirable location and commercial and residential hot-spot. It continues to be one of the fastest growing areas of the state. For more information, or to inquire about available space in this region, contact The Garibaldi Group at 610-866-7800.
About The Garibaldi Group/CORFAC International
The Garibaldi Group/CORFAC International is a full-service, global real estate firm now in its 90th year of operation. With offices in Chatham, New Jersey, as well as in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, the firm's extensive services include real estate consulting and brokerage services, financial services, lease administration, project management/development and property/construction management.
The Garibaldi Group is a member of CORFAC International, an organization of leading, privately-held, entrepreneurial commercial real estate firms serving 150 major markets in North America, and internationally through its King Sturge CORFAC International alliance. For more information, please contact The Garibaldi Group/CORFAC International at 973-635-0303 or visit www.garibaldi.com.
About CORFAC International
CORFAC International is one of the largest commercial real estate services organizations in the world and celebrates its 20th year in 2009. U.S.-based CORFAC is comprised of privately held entrepreneurial firms serving more than 150 markets in The Americas and internationally through alliances with UK-based King Sturge, BDI in Mexico, Rios Commercial Corp. in Puerto Rico and Panama-based Latin American Corporate Property Services. In recent years, CORFAC firms completed over 9,000 commercial real estate transactions annually, encompassing more than 300 million square feet and valued each year in excess of $30 billion. For more information on CORFAC contact 954-923-6160, info@corfac.com or visit: www.corfac.com.