Wilkes-Barre, PA — Outwater Industries, a family-owned company headquartered in Bogota, NJ has purchased the 179,908 s/f industrial building at 350 North Pennsylvania Ave., Wilkes-Barre. The company will use the building to distribute a wide variety of products to commercial and retail end users.
Founded in 1972, the company operates distribution centers in Bogota and Phoenix, Arizona. Outwater Industries maintains an inventory of more than 65,000 products such as furniture, cabinet and store fixture components; knobs and pulls; plastic and aluminum extrusions; literature displays and sign holders; and display motors and turntables, just to name a few.
The company plans to begin operations in Wilkes-Barre this summer and expects to create 40 jobs over the next few years.
The building was owned and sold by Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services who had leased it to several tenants over the years. The property was one of Mericle’s first real estate investments in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Outwater Industries owner Chip Kessler thanked Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, various city departments and Mericle’s team, for their help in completing the real estate transaction in a timely manner.
“Everyone was very cordial and responsive, Kessler said. Wilkes-Barre is clearly a pro-business community and we are excited about making 350 North Pennsylvania Ave. a forever home for our company.”
“As Mayor, I am delighted to welcome Outwater Industries, a new, job-creating business to Wilkes-Barre,” said Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown. “The company’s choice of our city will likely encourage more businesses to realize the advantages of Wilkes-Barre including a central location connecting to major East Coast cities and an affordable cost of living for workers and their families.”
“We are excited to welcome Outwater Industries to our city of Wilkes Barre and the Wyoming Valley and congratulate them on choosing our region as their new home to expand their business into Pennsylvania,” said Lindsay Griffin-Boylan, president and CEO of the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce. “We look forward to working alongside them to ensure their growth and success and know in this community they will join a long legacy of family-owned business success stories that span across all of NEPA.”
Mericle vice president Bob Besecker coordinated the real estate transaction with Leah Balerno and Mindy Lissner from the real estate brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield.
“The building has meant a lot to Mericle over the years,” Besecker said. “We purchased it in 1989 and it was a stepping stone to our future growth. We are glad to turn it over to a company of Outwater’s stature and we wish them many years of success in Wilkes-Barre.”
Besecker also thanked the City of Wilkes-Barre for its cooperation and assistance throughout Mericle’s efforts to recruit the company to the area.
Mericle Commercial Real Estate Services is a privately-owned, full-service, commercial real estate development and brokerage company headquartered in Plains Twp., PA.