Warehouses will soon cover more than 100 football fields in Allen Township (Pennsylvania)

The Allentown Morning Call ^ | April 29, 2017 | Matt Assad

[2ndDivisionVet]

Just a few miles off Route 22 in Allen Township, quarter horses gallop through a pasture and farmers tend to soil that will soon sprout corn. By summer, fields of wildflowers will bloom, giving motorists off the beaten path a pleasing dose of nature.

That scene will soon be harder to find as a township blanketed with farmland and green open space becomes the Lehigh Valley's epicenter for warehouse development. Plans are in the works for 6.5 million square feet of the kind of massive distribution centers that line Interstate 78 and Route 100 — imagine warehouses stretching across more than 100 football fields.

The $335 million FedEx Ground project under construction is just the start of what could be 13 cavernous warehouses built in the next few years. They will put thousands more cars and trucks in the township every day and millions of tax dollars into the Northampton Area School District. But the dizzying pace with which they're being proposed has even township officials worried about how Allen's slice of nature might disappear....

[2ndDivisionVet]

That's the tradeoff.

[FreeperCell]

Where are they going to play football?

[Scrambler Bob]

stretching across more than 100 football fields.
= = =

Actual, existing football fields? No. They mean area.

I guess no one can comprehend an acre, or square miles.

I calculate the area of 100 football fields as less than 1/2 mile by 1/2 mile.

Now if they mean football stadiums, the area is larger, but less well defined.

If the area stretched far enough to cover 100 scattered, existing football fields, then that WOULD be something.

[married21]

Seems like it was overkill for a little bitty township to have 100 football fields, anyway. (/s)

[Trumpet 1]

When is a high school going to have a domed stadium for football?! Wait, Am I off topic? Woops, never mind.

[Cowboy Bob]

I’m just glad they didn’t say soccer fields.

[headsonpikes]

They don’t say how many fields remain uncovered.

I think that’s the critical issue.

[Pontiac]

Plans are in the works for 6.5 million square feet of the kind of massive distribution centers that line Interstate 78 and Route 100

If you live in the area and have an adult child living in your basement; opportunity is knocking.

Get your kid certified to drive a fork lift tomorrow (figuratively speaking. Monday since tomorrow is Sunday).

[Reno89519]

No, as we all start and getting rid of the tens of millions of illegal aliens, it won’t be much call for soccer fields.

[DannyTN]

Yeah, we had some football fields that were basically pastures in Louisiana.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I think you mean which was the first domed high school football stadium. Two choices;

http://www.maxpreps.com/news/article.aspx?articleid=ad5c15d8-f6f3-4f13-8b27-d79fc7f4c9f8&page=7

http://www.smoaky.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=137748

[Grimmy]

Will they use illegals to cover the football fields that Americans don’t want to cover?

[PAR35]

When is a high school going to have a domed stadium for football?

Frisco ISD built a domed stadium. They then gave control of most of the dates to Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. Between the school district and the city, it only cost the taxpayers $90 million. 12,000 seats, so it is smaller than neighboring Allen's 18,000 seat open air stadium which only cost $60 million.

[FreedomPoster]

I figured when I read the question that there might already be one, and that it would be in Texas.

[Doogle]

Scranton is also developing huge distribution centers (ware housing).... although, I wouldn’t say unexpected,since the planned expansion of Port Newark...

[imardmd1]

The way this news story is worded, the city person might think this is an awful waste of such bautifulm corn-growing, cow-feeding land. /just tugs at the naive person's heart, doesn't it

But let's get real. Figuring it out, a 53.3 yard wide 120 yard long football field (including end zones), turns out to be exactly 1.3 acres. That means a hundred football field is about 130 acres, less than the size of a small farm. In 1900, a family could live from the income of a dairy farm of hand-milked cows, but not now since technology has taken over.

So, if that land was given over to use as a distribution center, how many families would it support? I'd say a 100 families would not overstate the value of employing the land for it. Or if it was developed into a residential zone of a half an acre per house including roadways, say 260 homes at $200,000 each, that would amount to over 50 million dollars of property.

That's not such a big sacrifice of a little farm for a big return, folks.

Putting it in proportion, that's not a big deal, folks.

[raybbr]

...vand millions of tax dollars into the Northampton Area School District.

It makes me ill to read that. It has become the only reason people look at businesses anymore. It's as though the only reason people and businesses exist to pay taxes.

[rodguy911]

Ohhhh.... that evil capitalism, what shall we do?

[redfreedom]

6.5 million square feet of distribution center warehouses?
Covering 100 football fields?
IMO, it’s not that much.

With an acre being 43,560 sq ft, that 6,500,000 sq ft of warehousing is only 149 acres, which is less than a quarter, and a quarter to a farmer is a nothingburger. My neighbor owns 10 quarters. Very successful farmers own several sections. (section = sq mi, quarter = 1/4 section)

The amount of income to be derived from that 149 acres will surpass the agricultural income multitudes of times over.

All those football players that need 100 foot ball fields can just go someplace else.

[Texas Eagle]

Woo boo! Looking forward to a follow-up hit from Billy Joel.

Yeah. Right.