Supervisors Approve Two Warehouses For Former Dealership Property As Residents Raise Concerns

A developer will be able to construct two large warehouses on a portion of what used to be part of the Reedman Toll site in Middletown Township.

Despite neighbors who spoke against the plan at Monday evening meeting’s public comment period, the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to green light developer 213 Industrial LLC, which is owned by Boston-based Novaya Foxfield Industrial, to build a 360,000-square-foot warehouse and a 451,00-square-foot warehouse. Supervisor Dana Kane was the lone no vote.

“Shame on you,” one man called out to the supervisors following the vote.

In late summer, the supervisors tabled the plan after concerns over buffering for nearby homes and traffic were raised.

The two warehouses will be built on land along East Old Lincoln Highway (Route 213) near I-295 that previously belonged to Reedman Toll. The dealership sold off the property and remains open.

The plan is split into a northern and southern site that totals about 78 acres. Plans refer to the warehouse totaling 360,000 square feet as the northern site and the warehouse measuring 451,000 square feet as the southern site.

Tenants for the warehouses have not been announced.

The former test track, security building, and parking lot near I-295 are located on the site that is designated for one of the proposed warehouses, according to the blueprints and county property records. The undeveloped land across the street will also be the site of a warehouse.

The current overpass that connects the two sections of the dealership’s former property will be removed, and both warehouse locations will have entrances on Old East Lincoln Highway at a new signalized intersection.

According to Michael Malloy Jr., the attorney representing the developer, Novaya Foxfield Industrial went to neighbors and sought feedback following the September supervisors meeting.

Several of the supervisors said they appreciated the developer talking with neighbors and taking feedback to alter the designs.

Malloy said the northern warehouse will sit at 150 feet or more from all homes in the abutting Langhorne Gardens neighborhood.

The attorney said a special sound-reducing wall will be added, the number of plantings and trees on the buffer zone has been increased, and a truck maneuvering area closer to homes has been moved away from them.

Malloy said the developer plans to plant trees that look nice and also are maintained.

“This is a long-term commitment from a ‘first-class developer,’” he stated.

The developer conducted a sound study that found most noise that wafts into the Langhorne Gardens neighborhood comes from area roadways and I-295. The study by the developer found the warehouse would cut back on noise by blocking some of it.

Malloy said the development will lead to traffic improvements at six nearby intersections to support the two new warehouses.

The developer will provide $1 million to the township for traffic light improvements.

Roadway improvements to increase capacity along East Maple Avenue, East Old Lincoln Highway, East Lincoln Highway, and Woodbourne Road are proposed. The plan calls for redesigning Old East Lincoln Highway in the area of the warehouses to add more room for capacity and turning.

Malloy explained that the developer intends the $1 million to the township to pay for upgrades to nearby signals. The upgrade signals would be interconnected to better manage traffic.

“[The lights] aren’t just for our site, but for the entire corridor and community at large,” Malloy said.

In addition to the sound and traffic work, the developer plans to install stormwater infrastructure for the two new warehouse sites.

Susan Corleto, whose home would be near the northern warehouse, refuted the claims by the developer over sound and traffic. She said the addition of the warehouse will “significant impact on this beautiful, quiet community.”

Neighbor Michelle Mackay applauded the developer for taking in the concerns of the residents and adding mitigation measures to the plan. She raised lingering concerns over noise, exhaust fumes from trucks at the warehouse, and traffic on already busy Woodbourne Road.

“Those roads are horrendous. There’s no other way to describe them,” she said. “This will make them horrendous times 600,000. It is going to be much more of a nightmare.”

Mackay said the warehouses, even with the altered plans, will have a negative impact on the community.

Eric Bruno, who lives in the Levittown section of the township, raised concern that warehouses will bring additional truck traffic that will exacerbate existing traffic issues, including vehicles that are too large getting stuck under the nearby Flower Mill Road bridge.

Earlier this year, it was reported the land where the warehouses will be built was purchased by Novaya Foxfield Industrial for $50 million.

On the location of the Reedman Toll test track, there was a plan to construct a shopping area with stores, dining options, and a bank about ten years ago. However, such plans were abandoned after the Middletown Township Zoning Hearing Board rejected them.

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