10-12-18

P ennsylvania

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Real Estate Journal — Pennsylvania — Section C

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5% year-over-year increase, and manufacturing accounted for 36% of that growth Manufacturing driving regional growth as Lehigh Valley GDP reaches record-high $40.1 billion T he LehighValley’s gross domestic product has reached a record-high

and growth in manufacturing was responsible for about 36 percent of that year-over-year growth, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). “The Lehigh Valley is unique among major metropolitan areas in the United States in that manufacturing is driving such a large percentage of its growth,” said Don Cunning- ham , president & CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC). “Manufacturing is clearly alive and well in the Lehigh Valley, and our re- gional GDP is the largest it’s ever been, far surpassing even the days of Bethlehem Steel.” Manufacturing the fastest-growing sector Manufacturing makes up $7.4 billion – or 18.4% – of the Lehigh Valley’s overall $40.1 billion GDP. That’s a much higher percentage than its share of the national economy. Manufacturing is 11.6 percent of the U.S. economy, according PHILADELPHIA, PA — RAL Development Ser- vices joined with Philadel- phia Mayor Jim Kenney, City Council president Darrell Clarke, the 14th Democratic Ward, Suffolk Construction Company, as well as other local officials and members of the community, for the groundbreaking of 1300 Fair- mount, a 14-story, 624,575 s/f mixed-use property devel- oped by RAL Development Services and designed by Philadelphia’s Cope Linder Associates . The property is positioned at the confluence of several significant historic and de- veloping neighborhoods and will include 478 rental apart- ments including studio, one- bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom layouts, as well as 58,759 leasable s/f of retail space. “Today’s groundbreaking

to the BEA. Manufacturing was also the fastest-growing economic sector for 2017 in terms of economic output. Its $7.4 bil- lion GDP was an increase of $700 million (10.4 percent) compared to 2016. No other sector had a larger year-over- year percentage increase. That means manufacturing in the Lehigh Valley grew at a faster pace than transporta- tion and warehousing, which saw the second-largest year- over-year jump. That sector, with a $2.1 billion GDP, grew at a rate of 8.8 percent com- pared to 2016. “Contrary to the misnomer that big box warehousing and fulfillment centers are driving growth in the Lehigh Valley economy, manufacturing far surpasses it in economic out- put and growth,” Cunningham said. “That’s a testament to both the strength of manufac- turing in the Lehigh Valley, and the balanced and diver- sified makeup of the overall economy.”

Manufacturing remains the Lehigh Valley’s second-largest sector. The largest is finance, insurance and real estate, which makes up $7.6 billion of the regional economy. Manu- facturing fell only $200 million behind it in 2017, compared to a gap of $900 million the previous year. Lehigh Valley ranks 64th in the U.S. Gross domestic product is a measurement of a region’s economic output. The Lehigh Valley’s $40.1 billion figure accounts for private sector industry and does not in- clude government spending. If that were included, the figure would rise to $43.8 billion. The Lehigh Valley economy now ranks 64th out of the 382 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, which is one spot higher than last year. The BEA released the new data on Sept. 18, and 2017 is the most recent year for which measurable GDP data is available. “The Lehigh Valley is the

Preschool, providing high-cal- iber early childhood education to children of parents who live and work in and around the Fairmount neighborhood. ALDI, a leader in the gro- cery retailing industry, has pre-leased 25,427 s/f of retail space in the project for a much-needed grocery store that will provide healthy and affordable groceries to the growing neighborhood. “I’m pleased to welcome a new development that will not only provide housing op- portunities, but will also serve the entire community,” City Council president Darrell L. Clarke said. “The addition of an Aldi and Chesterbrook Academy Preschool will fill a growing need and create jobs. Once completed, 1300 Fair- mount will be an important anchor for an increasingly vibrant and attractive section of North Broad.”  nation’s 69th largest major metropolitan area by popula- tion but the country’s 64th largest economy, so we con- tinue to swing well above our weight class in economic out- put,’ Cunningham said. The Lehigh Valley private sector GDP remains larger than that of Vermont ($27.4 billion) and Wyoming ($34 billion), as well as 112 other countries in the world. If the Lehigh Valley were a country, it would be the 88th largest economy in the world in terms of economic output. Economic growth across many sectors Nearly each of the economic sectors of the Lehigh Valley economy saw year-over-year GDP growth in 2017, with the exception of the information sector, which saw a slight drop from $2 billion to $1.9 billion. The sector-by-sector break- down can be found below: • Finance, Insurance and Real Estate ($7.6 billion, +4.26% year-over-year) continued on page 3C

$40.1 billion, with much of the economic growth driv- en by the re- gion’s thriv- ing manufac- turing sector, according to n e w l y - r e - leased federal data.

DonCunningham

The $40.1 billion regional GDP for 2017 is about a 5% in- crease over the previous year,

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RALDevelopment Services, Phila. officials and local community celebrate groundbreaking

RAL Development Services joined with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, City Council President Darrell Clarke, the 14th Democratic Ward, Suffolk Construction Company, as well as other local officials and members of the community, for the groundbreaking of 1300 Fairmount.

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is a momentous occasion for RAL and the City of Philadel- phia as we are confident 1300 Fairmount Avenue will be key to the area’s ongoing growth and success,” said Spencer Levine , managing director of RAL. “We are thrilled to have the full support of local officials as well as the 14th Democratic ward and various community organizations, and look forward to what this

transformative project will provide for the neighborhood.” RAL Development Services had previously announced the pre-lease of 38,000 s/f of com- mercial space at 1300 Fair- mount Ave. Nobel Learning Communities, Inc., a national network of 200 private schools throughout the country, has pre-leased a space of 12,488 s/f in the property. Nobel plans to open a Chesterbrook Academy

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