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City-owned land under contract in Northeast Philly for latest speculative warehouse project

Arbok Partners hopes to close on the property at 2021 Woodhaven Rd., north of Roosevelt Boulevard, within the coming months.

Artist's rendering of warehouse proposed for 2021 Woodhaven Rd. in Northeast Philadelphia.
Artist's rendering of warehouse proposed for 2021 Woodhaven Rd. in Northeast Philadelphia.Read moreArbok Partners (custom credit)

Jersey City, N.J.-based real-estate investment group Arbok Partners is under contract to buy seven city-owned acres in the Far Northeast for a 100,200-square-foot warehouse development, the city’s latest such project to be planned on a speculative basis, without a future tenant in hand.

Arbok, a private-equity firm managed by veterans of logistics-focused real estate giant Prologis Inc., hopes to close on the property at 2021 Woodhaven Rd., north of Roosevelt Boulevard, within the coming months and to start construction around April, partner Bo Farkas said in an interview this week.

The sale is contingent on Arbok being awarded permits needed for what it is calling the Independence Logistics Center, Farkas said.

The company was granted a zoning permit last month for the project, including the removal from the property of so-called heritage trees, which are trees deemed as having special value due to their age and type. It is still working on its applications for permits from the Philadelphia Streets Department and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Farkas said.

The city is asking $700,000 for the property, only five acres of which is developable due to a stream that runs along the parcel, said Thomas Dalfo, an executive overseeing real estate activities at the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp.

Companies such as Arbok are building speculative warehouses in Philadelphia based on anticipated future demand from e-commerce companies and other users who want to be near Philadelphia’s labor pool and customer base.