Tax abatement approved for proposed warehouse

Morgantown Logistics to build 650,000-square-foot facility

The Cumru Township commissioners unanimously agreed to a tax abatement program for a proposed warehouse and distribution center near Routes 724 and 10.

The tax abatement would go to NorthPoint LLC of Riverside, Mo., which plans to build Morgantown Logistics, a 650,000-square-foot facility to warehouse materials for top industrial clients.

Potential clients include Walmart, Amazon, Target and Lowe’s, but the company’s website shows 465-plus entities on the roster.

Keith Mooney, an attorney representing the developer, said the program, formally known as a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance, or LERTA,

would help offset costs of significant challenges on the 171-acre property, such as steep slopes, retaining walls and utility relocations.

The tax-assistance program was created by the state in 1977 and authorizes local taxing authorities to provide a graduated 10-year tax abatement for improvements on commercial property development.

Mooney said the tax assistance would only apply to the improvements on the property, which he said would total about $48 million.

According to Mooney, the proposed development would net the township about $46,000 per year in taxes. That amount would at least double after 10 years.

NorthPoint website information graphs also list $42,000 in transfer taxes for the Gov. Mifflin School

District, 253 construction jobs and 360 warehouse jobs.

The site is densely wooded with rock cliffs and steep slopes, leaving it unlikely for conflicts with neighbors, he said. NorthPoint boasts low traffic counts and little impact on local utilities.

Mooney said the land is owned by Mail Shark of Mohnton. Mail Shark had planned to develop there years ago and had already installed a pad site.

NorthPoint Development Vice President Brian Stahl said later that the proposed project is in the early land development planning stages and will require approval from various agencies, including the township, Department of Environmental Protection and PennDOT.

Stahl said ideally development would start by fall, but it is more likely to happen next spring.