Philly Welcomes Teva Pharmaceuticals Facility, Home2 Suites Hotel

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

Last Tuesday Teva Pharmaceuticals USA broke ground on its new warehouse and distribution center in Northeast Philadelphia. Teva officials gathered at the site at One Red Lion Road for an official opening ceremony for the $300 million project.

According to PhillyBurbs.com, the pharma company had been looking for a site large enough to accommodate its expanding business. After more than two years of searching and analyzing over 50 properties in three states, Teva selected a 140-acre site at the Omni Logistics Center in Philadelphia. The company has teamed up with development and design firm J.G. Petrucci Co., Inc. (JGPCO) to build a 1.2-square-foot development that will consist of three buildings, notes PhillyBurbs.com. The facility will be used to store and distribute finished products and it might expand in the future. Apart from the 200 positions that will be relocated here, the project calls for another 200 new jobs to be created over the next several years.

The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that local developer Parkway Corp. will construct a new Home2 Suites hotel. The Hilton branded hotel will be built at the corner of 12^th and Arch streets, close to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The $60 million project will create 123 construction jobs and 146 new permanent hotel jobs once the building is completed in mid-2013. Citybizlistnotes that the new facility will offer 246 new guest rooms, as well as over 2,000 square feet of meeting space and 9,750 square feet of retail and restaurant space at the ground floor.

The developer will receive $5 million in HUD 108 loans and $3 million in EnergyWorks from the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC). Another $2.75 million will be granted by the state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.