County Commissioners Approve Tax Break For Massive Keystone Trade Center Plan

The proposed large-scale development of the U.S. Steel property in Falls Township is getting a tax break.

On Wednesday morning, the Bucks County Commissioners held a brief public meeting and approved the Keystone Opportunity Investment Zone for the planned Keystone Trade Center project that could bring as many as 5,000 to 10,000 new jobs and as much as $1.5 billion in investment over the next decade.

The designation will provide tax exemptions, deductions, abatements, and credit for soon-to-be owner NorthPoint Development, which will be purchasing the roughly 1,800-acre site for a currently undisclosed sum.

The Keystone Opportunity Investment Zone designation will run from January 1 and ending on December 31, 2035. 

With the commissioners’ vote, all three taxing authorities – Bucks County, Falls Township, and the Pennsbury School District – in the area have now agreed to the zone.

NorthPoint Development has agreed to pay $25,000 to the county for 15 years. The funds will be sent to Bucks County Community College. They company will make a one-time payment of $164,000 that the county will put in a fund designated for environmental projects.

Before Falls Township officials in recent months, NorthPoint Development officials have said they plan to construct new warehouses ranging in size from 200,000 square feet to up to 2 million square feet on open space at the property. Some buildings could be as high as 100 feet if needed. The Missouri-based developer has said they plan to turn the site into the “largest e-commerce, logistics, and multi-model industrial project on the East Coast” with room for as many as 20 new buildings constructed on a speculative basis.

NorthPoint Development has not announced any companies that are interested in the site, but the firm has previously developed distribution centers for Home Depot, Staples, Walmart, Amazon, FedEx, XPO Logistics, Chewy.com, General Motors, and Ulta.

NorthPoint Development officials have said they want to break ground by spring on the first phases of the project.

The property had been previously been designated a Keystone Opportunity Investment Zone from the early 2000s until a few years ago. However, development plans by U.S. Steel didn’t fully pan out during those years.

Bucks County Commissioners Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia called the proposal for the site a “win-win.” She noted that her grandparents sold their farm in the early 1950s for development of the now-closed steel mill.

“We’re excited about the construction and the permanent jobs this will create,” Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie said.

“This is really a big deal … this is going to create thousands of good construction jobs and after it opens it will create thousands of well-paying jobs here in Bucks County,” Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo said.

The Keystone Opportunity Investment Zone for the site was approved by state lawmakers in fall.

Previous reporting on the project:

• Tax Breaks Could Help Development At Proposed Keystone Trade Center
• Keystone Trade Center Project Moves Forward
• Ground On Billion-Dollar Keystone Trade Center Could Be Broken By Spring
• Falls Twp. Holding Special Meeting On Proposed U.S. Steel Site Redevelopment
• Plans For U.S. Steel Site Show New Billion-Dollar Development, Potential For Thousands Of Jobs
• EXCLUSIVE: Large U.S. Steel Site To Be Sold To Developer
• U.S. Steel Seeking To Sell Fairless Works Site

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