Former Budd Company Site Documents

This site compiles information about a proposed development at 1 Red Lion Road and 10098 Sandmeyer Lane in Northeast Philadelphia near the Somerton and Bustleton neighborhoods in Philadelphia and Lower Moreland in Montgomery County.

To view the documents below, click the pop-out icon at the top right of each item, or follow the links. Elsewhere on this website are photos of the property, related links, and correspondence regarding the development of the site.

On a separate page, you can view information about distribution centers and neighborhoods near them, and distribution centers in Northeast Philadelphia. Please write to suggest documents, photos, or links to add to this website.

Appeals to Zoning Board of Adjustment from Licenses and Inspections determination to issue permits:

https://www.phila.gov/zba/appeals-calendar/#/appeals/HA-2021-000851

https://www.phila.gov/zba/appeals-calendar/#/appeals/HA-2021-000854

https://www.phila.gov/zba/appeals-calendar/#/appeals/HA-2021-000899

CDR_L&I Letter_ 1 Red Lion Rd.pdf

Civic Design Review findings letter prepared by Planning Commission staff, 11/17/20

cdr-1redlion&10098sandmeyer-2.pdf

Somerton Civic Association Registered Community Organization letter to Philadelphia City Planning Commission Civic Design Review panel, with links to related correspondence and to CDC & UPS materials submitted to panel, 11/10/20

2608_001.pdf

Letter sent on behalf of Greater Bustleton Civic League on 11/10/20

November 10, 2020 Civic Design Review panel meeting regarding project: https://youtu.be/XsZkxk8JjI8

UPS warehouse goes before Civic Design Review - Northeast Times.pdf

Northeast Times, 9/16/20

"Around 20 people called in during the meeting’s public comment section to voice unanimous concerns about the center’s potential impact on traffic, pollution and quality of life in the immediate Somerton and Bustleton areas. "

cdr-1redlion&10098sandmeyer (2).pdf

Somerton Civic Association Registered Community Organization letter to Philadelphia City Planning Commission Civic Design Review panel with attachments, 9/8/20

Document View | NewsBank.pdf

Inquirer, 10/11/20

"Adding UPS vehicles could bring travel to a standstill... 'It's untenable....'"

September 8, 2020 Civic Design Review panel meeting regarding project: https://youtu.be/yTrrsr-5H5w

Somerton Civic Association board email to members including links to traffic study and revised materials submitted by developer to Civic Design Review panel, 9/6/20, with forwarded message dated 8/28/20 and attachments

SCA Email to Members 9-6-20.pdf

August 28, 2020 email forwarded to members with attachments.pdf

Gmail - Lower Moreland Township Board of Commissioners discussion of 1 Red Lion Road project.pdf

Somerton Civic Association board email to members, 8/24/20, with notes and link to recording of Lower Moreland Township Board of Commissioners meeting about the development

Gmail: Update and new comment period.pdf

Somerton Civic Association board email to members, 7/6/20, with attachment announcing that a DEP comment period for the stormwater impacts of the project runs through July 13

Gmail - 1 Red Lion Road -- First set of DEP documents available, comment period extended.pdf

Somerton Civic Association board email to members, 6/21/20, with link to DEP-released documents about development and notice extending DEP comment period to 6/26

Gmail - June meeting and update.pdf

Somerton Civic Association board email to members, 6/1/20, forwarding correspondence with developers, 5/27/20 and 4/16/20, with attachment announcing comment and hearing request period for PA Department of Environmental Protection

Gmail - Fwd: Red Lion Road Presentation.pdf

2020-03-31 Red Lion PPT - Summary 2020-03-30.pdf

Somerton Civic Association board email to members, April 2, 2020, forwarding correspondence and document sent by developers

Inquirer, 2/10/20

"UPS had told city officials they were planning a facility that could employ 1,000, including shift and part-time workers. But UPS has told state officials it is committed to hiring a more modest 352 full-time workers by the time it opens in 2022, and has separately said new plants in Philadelphia and other Pennsylvania cities are part of a wave of “highly automated” facilities that won’t create as many jobs per box as earlier ones. UPS and its competitors... have been adding automation equipment to save labor....Nearby residents and storekeepers... will have to get used to renewed truck traffic."

https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/ups-red-lion-road-northeast-philadelphia-budd-plant-20200210.html

UPS opening distribution center on Red Lion Road - Northeast Times.pdf

Northeast Times website, 2/10/20

"UPS announced it plans to open a one million-square foot package sortation and distribution center at 1 Red Lion Road... No blueprints are finalized as the company is 'early in the planning and feasibility phase,' a representative told the Times."

https://northeasttimes.com/2020/02/08/ups-opening-distribution-center-on-red-lion-road/

Northeast_ Residents Look to City For Answers About Budd Site Development – PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.pdf

Philadelphia Neighborhoods, 10/16/19

https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2019/10/16/northeast-residents-look-to-city-for-answers-about-budd-site-development/

"...with little response from elected officials and CDC, both communities are left wondering what a large-scale distribution facility could mean for their neighborhoods."

Last-Mile Warehouses Within Philly City Limits Are No Sure Thing.pdf

Bisnow, 11/7/19

"The urban street grid makes proximity to highways even more important than it is in the suburbs or rural distribution hubs like the Lehigh Valley for any facility that uses trucks to bring in or ship out goods. Complicating matters further is that truly undeveloped land suitable for industrial construction simply doesn't exist within city limits.... 'You could probably serve the same consumers more cost-effectively in South Jersey'"

https://www.bisnow.com/philadelphia/news/industrial/philadelphia-last-mile-distribution-centers-no-sure-thing-101683

Meds_devices_to_be_delivered_by_drones_UPS___Philadelphia_Inquirer_The_PA___October_22_2019__pA7.pdf

Inquirer, 10/22/19

"A UPS source and a construction source say the company has been in discussions over a Northeast Philadelphia property on Red Lion Road formerly used by Budd Co.... now that UPS has begun considering more urban sites... UPS and the site’s owners say no decision has been reached."

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tbXaJoL9u5oW7qccYi1qoMdP5W02HvPAM8EKSHXKxd4/edit#slide=id.p

Slideshow about 1 Red Lion Road/10098 Sandmeyer Lane development presented by two civic associations on October 16, 2019 at American Heritage C.U. with talking points

www.bisnow.com/index.php/philadelphia/news/industrial/ups-distribution-hub-northeast-philadelphia-budd-co-plant-100839

"UPS Mulls Massive Distribution Hub At Former Northeast Philly Manufacturing Plant," Bisnow, September 16, 2019

"The shipping giant is one of several companies to express interest in the site, where Commercial Development Co. has plans for a 1.6M SF warehouse complex."

UPS_Considering_Phila._Site_for_Distribution_Hub__Philadelphia_Inquirer_The_PA___September_13_2019__pA9.pdf

Inquirer, 9/13/19

"United Parcel Service is among the companies considering the 138-acre former Budd Co. property... as a potential distribution hub... In tight markets... 'people do dumb things.'"

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1q7NQHb-m26wifUpJ76hdiuLIhE10jcH40gBVaiT12NM/edit

Slideshow presented by two civic associations on June 27, 2019 at American Heritage C.U. with talking points

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/06/27/community-demanding-answers-over-future-of-massive-dirt-pile-dubbed-mount-somerton/

Video taken by CBS 3 News, June 27, 2019, showing the property from above

final_5cf91162817d79001405557a_926800.mp4

Video taken by a reader of this website in the third week of May 2019 showing the property from above

37237.pdf

PA Office of Open Records Final Determination ordering City Law Department to disclose records of recent confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements made by City in relation to 1 Red Lion, November 28, 2018

https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/Documents/FinalDet/37237.pdf

Sustainable Redevelopment Projects 2018 - Year in Review.pdf

Company newsletter, January 2019, pp. 3-4: "CDC is currently performing site grading and preparations to prepare the property for a $250 million development project designed for selected end users who will bring this site back to productive reuse."

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Sustainable-Redevelopment-Projects-2018---Year-in-Review.html?soid=1010967386644&aid=9mN9R-3ZG9s

News_Article__Philadelphia_Inquirer_The_PA___March_9_2018__p11.pdf

News_Article__Philadelphia_Inquirer_The_PA___March_9_2018__p13.pdf

Inquirer March 9, 2018 (2 parts)

"...three large warehouse buildings totaling more than 1.6 million square feet...shippers have preferred to locate in relatively low-wage areas away from big urban centers."

Commercial Development Company, Inc. (CDC) | PRESS RELEASE.pdf

http://www.cdcco.com/press-release/commercial-development-company-inc-announces-purchase-of-138-acre-development-ready-site-in-northeast-philadelphia/

Press release, March 8, 2018: “This is the largest development-ready tract of land in the Philadelphia market... The I-2 zoning at the site allows for a wide variety of warehousing, distribution, and general industrial uses."

sitesketch.pdf

Plan from Inquirer article published online, March 9, 2018

https://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/ne-phila-ex-budd-site-sold-for-18m-to-cdc-for-warehouses-20180308.html

"Alternate 1 Site Plan E-Commerce Distribution"

PWD Stormwater Plan conceptual approval.pdf

Water Department Stormwater Plan Review -- Conceptual Approval

(dirt pile)

August 3, 2018

"Enclosures: PWD-stamped plan.... Note: Plan provided by O'Brien & Gere Engineers, Inc. (OBG) and based upon KSS Architects eCommerce Distribution Option 2 Site Plan Provided by E[nvironmental] L[iability] T[ransfer]."

stormwater.pdf

Water Department Stormwater Plan Review -- Project Application Status

(dirt pile)

https://www.pwdplanreview.org/apply/application/app_status

Tracking #: FY18-ONER-5185-01

"Date completed... 08/03/2018"

Clean copy of "Alternate 1 Site Plan E Commerce Distribution" (the document published on the Inquirer's website in March 2018), with seven photos below showing details.