3 warehouses totaling over 1.9 million sq. ft. proposed for Dover Twp.: meeting delayed
The Dover Township Board of Supervisors will hear from a developer on March 6 about the development of three warehouses totaling over 1.9 million square feet on 200 acres at Bull and Canal Roads in Dover.
In May 2022, the land owned by Glen Gery Corporation that is located immediately behind Northern York County Regional Police Department and fronting on Bull Road, just south of Nursery Road, was reviewed by Hines Warehouse, an industrial real estate developer, according to the Dover Township Industrial Commercial Development Committee meeting minutes.
They purchased the land at the end of May in order to build three large warehouses that would be accessed from Bull Road. Per township meeting minutes from 2022, "it is anticipated the project will bring approximately 800 jobs to the community. Truck counts are detailed at approximately 1,500 per day with most of the trucks traveling south to Route 30 or east to Interstate 83."
This project would require improvements at various intersections to address traffic concerns, and a PennDOT Scoping Application was filed prior to the May 2022 meeting, according to the minutes.
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Since this project would impact the surrounding areas, letters about it were sent by the York County Planning Commission to all the neighboring townships and boroughs regarding this site and information on the potential impacts.
In June 2022, the Dover Township Planning Commission also discussed the development of this project, according to its meeting minutes. In those minutes, they note that there would be "greater than 1,000 vehicle trips a day" and that there will be a warehouse with "over 100,000 square feet of building floor area." The development would have "300 or more parking spaces."
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In September 2023, the project again showed up in meeting minutes, this time under the name the "York Industrial Development project." On behalf of that project was the applicant, listed as Bull Canal Dover Owner LLC. It was represented by members of McNees Law, Hines Warehouse and Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc. at the Dover Township Planning Commission meeting.
The preliminary land development plan, dated June 7, 2023, was prepared by Langan Engineering, and it proposed three separate warehouse buildings on one lot, according to the meeting minutes. The site encompasses 198.98 acres and would access Bull Road and Fox Run Road.
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They project representatives presented an overview, along with the waivers being requested. The proposal is for a lot consolidation to make one lot to construct the three separate industrial buildings for warehousing use.
The total square footage would be 1.9 million square feet split between the three buildings, the minutes reported. Parking calculations would be one space per employee for the two largest shifts.
Building one would be a single-loading building. Building two is a proposed cross-dock building and will be an estimated 1.09 million square feet with 248 loading docks, 342 trailer spaces and 578 car spaces, with an estimated 578 employees. Building three would be a single-loaded building, with 450,000 square feet, 95 loading docks, 109 trailer spaces and 502 car parking spaces.
The access road off Fox Run Road would be strictly for emergency use only and would be gated. The developers proposed using existing woodlands to act as the required screening for neighboring properties. Other screening would be planted on top of a retaining wall.
The results of the traffic impact study were presented at this meeting as well. According to the minutes, the recommendations are to widen Bull Road along the site frontage for a northbound left-turn lane, add a traffic signal at the intersection of Bull Road and Canal Road and widen the northeast corner radius to accommodate truck turns at the intersection.
The Canal Road and Susquehanna Trail intersection would need a 350-foot eastbound turn lane constructed. The Bull Road and Hilton Avenue intersection would have a traffic signal light installed and a 275-foot northbound turn lane would be constructed. At the Susquehanna Trail and Cloverleaf Road intersection, there would be signage so that vehicles will not block the intersection.
This plan was in its final review with PennDOT as of Aug. 24, 2023, according to the meeting minutes.
In addition to the traffic study, the developers presented six waivers. One was to build a larger-than-required water-retention basin that would drain within 72 hours.
The second waiver requested was for the final plans to be submitted on a different, larger-than-needed, sheet size, so that the full scope of the plans may be seen more easily.
Other waiver requests involved changes to drainage pipe sizes, a larger, full-access driveway designed for truck use and more vegetation screening,
Now, the developers are back to present a Preliminary Land Development Plan to the planning commission. The plan was supposed to be on the Feb. 7 agenda, but the agenda has been updated to reflect that the discussion was tabled at the developer's request.
The presentation has been moved to the March 6 meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m. at the Township Municipal Building, 2480 West Canal Road, Dover.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Developer proposing 1.9 million sq. ft. of warehouses in Dover Twp. PA
