Former Northeast Philly Nabisco Plant Finally Sold for $10.2 Million
Bye-bye, bakery tower; hello, industrial-retail mixed-use development. | Google Street View image
The landmark former Nabisco plant located on Roosevelt Boulevard between Byberry and Woodhaven roads in Northeast Philadelphia has been sold to an undisclosed developer for $10.2 million.
Richard Gorodesky, the senior vice president at Colliers International who represented the buyer, said the 27.5-acre site will be redeveloped with a mix of industrial and retail uses.
Two of the three buildings currently standing on the site will be demolished. The highly visible nine-story tower, which Gorodesky described as “a big piece of equipment used to bake cookies,” and an attached two-story building that was used to produce crackers, will both fall to the wrecking ball. The third building, a 130,000-square-foot, one-story structure used as the plant’s distribution facility, has resumed that role; Gorodesky said that the developer has already leased the building to an apparel manufacturer that is using it as its distribution center. Together, the three buildings contain 600,000 square feet of space.
Gorodesky said that retail uses would be located on the portion of the site closest to the intersection of Byberry and the Boulevard. “It’s good that the buyer will retain the industrial flavor of the site and take advantage of its location at Byberry and the Boulevard,” he said.
The Philadelphia Business Journal first reported the sale of the building in January, when an agreement of sale was reached. At the time, the report noted that the sale depended on the out-of-state developer receiving approval for its redevelopment plan and that the asking price for the entire parcel and all three buildings was $27.5 million. The buyer will be responsible for demolishing the two buildings.
Former owner Mondelēz International closed the plant in 2015. Mondelēz was created in 2012 when former Nabisco parent Kraft Foods spun off its global snack food, coffee and candy businesses.
