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HANOVER TWP. — Chicago-based True Value Company will open a 1 million square foot distribution center on former mine-scarred land along the new South Valley Parkway, creating hundreds of new jobs, officials announced Monday.
“True Value is truly excited to build our new world-class distribution center in Hanover Township, and we look forward to contributing to the economic development in Northeast Pennsylvania,” company representative James Harrington said during a media announcement Monday.
Still under construction, the new building is in Missouri-based NorthPoint Development’s Hanover 9 Industrial Park and will total nearly 1.4 million square feet. A tenant is being sought to occupy the remaining portion, NorthPoint Economic Development Vice President Brent Miles said Monday.
Workers at all levels, including management, will be hired at the new True Value facility, which is set to open this fall, said Harrington, the company’s divisional vice president of supply chain operations. The company will pay competitive wages, but specifics on the number of positions and compensation have not been finalized, Harrington said.
An ‘iconic’ brand
True Value is one of the world’s leading wholesalers of “hardline” products, including hardware equipment and home improvement and lawn and garden products, and has been supporting independent retailers for more than 70 years, Harrington said.
It is an “iconic globally recognized brand” serving more than 4,400 stores in 60 countries, he said. The new center will alleviate supply chain congestion, boost in-stock merchandise and provide greater flexibility and service to more than 1,000 retail outlets in the country’s northeast region, he said.
The company’s $150 million investment is “unprecedented,” he said. This is the first center it has built from the “ground up” in more than 30 years, he said, noting it will serve more than 1,000 retail outlets in the Northeast U.S.
Why build here? Harrington listed six primary reasons True Value settled on the Luzerne County site:
• “Unparalleled” local support, particularly the nonprofit Earth Conservancy’s work to reclaim the land so it could be sold to NorthPoint and developed.
• Encouragement from state Sen. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, and Hanover Township Commissioner Chairman Russell Davis that gave the company confidence to make a substantial investment here.
• The new state-funded $90 million South Valley Parkway, which provides “excellent access” to the site from Interstate 81 needed to receive and deliver supplies and products.
• The region’s large labor pool, which has a reputation for its strong work ethic and values that “align well with True Value’s culture.”
• The ability to partner with NorthPoint, which is considered one of the best commercial real estate developers in the country.
• Proximity to the Luzerne County Community College, which will help “train and educate the future leaders” of the company.
‘Force of nature’
During the announcement, which was moved from the project site into a construction trailer due to strong winds, Yudichak said the “incredible” True Value project has helped make Hanover 9 “the hottest piece of economic development real estate” in the entire I-81 corridor.
True Value has a track record of respecting its employees and valuing communities where its facilities are located, Yudichak said.
Yudichak described NorthPoint as “a breathtaking force of nature” attracting new employers and more than $400 million in private capital investment in two years.
NorthPoint also brought Chewy.com, Adidas and Patagonia Inc. to its first 172-acre project in Hanover Township, which it calls the Hanover Ridge Trade Center.
In addition to True Value, the 322-acre Hanover 9 tract NorthPoint purchased from Earth Conservancy last year in the township and Nanticoke will house an e-commerce company — its identity should be announced in about a month — in a structure already under construction along Kosciuszko Street across from the community college, Miles said. One or two more buildings also are planned at the site, Miles said.
In a third project, NorthPoint also recently purchased another 173 acres from Earth Conservancy and the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce along Dundee Road in the township, with plans to construct three structures totaling 1.375 million square feet there.
“They are a whirlwind of economic activity — a wind much stronger and greater than the light breeze we are enjoying in Northeastern Pennsylvania today,” Yudichak said. “Without qualification, I could assure you there has been no better economic development partner for Luzerne County than NorthPoint Development.”
‘Where capital is welcome’
Reiterating his prior statement that “capital goes where capital is welcome,” Miles said it was a “hard fought” process to attract True Value, which had considered sites in other states and parts of Pennsylvania.
An available site for a large building and a tax break already approved by municipal, county and school officials also helped seal the deal, he said.
Under this break, NorthPoint must pay taxes on the land, which was exempt under Earth Conservancy. The company will receive full real estate tax forgiveness on new buildings for seven years, 90 percent exemption in the eighth year, 80 percent in the ninth and 70 percent in the 10th and final year.
Miles said he knew True Value was “the right company” for the county and the site.
“We knew that they would fit with the fabric of this community that we really have grown to know and love,” Miles said.
While many are dissatisfied with the level of cooperation in federal government, county Council Chairman Tim McGinley said during the announcement that landing the True Value project and others required support from elected officials in the state, county, Hanover Township, Nanticoke and two school districts — Hanover Area and Greater Nanticoke Area.
“That’s the way government is supposed to work — working together for the benefit of the citizens we serve,” McGinley said.
State Rep. Gerald Mullery, D-Newport Township, also thanked True Value for working with local economic development officials to “make this project a reality.”
“The hundreds of jobs that are expected to be created at this new facility are welcome news and a testament to the work ethic that Luzerne County residents are known to possess,” Mullery said, noting the project also will be a “positive move” for the community college in providing training.
