The 12 Days of Christmas in Central PA’s Commercial Real Estate
We’re all familiar with the classic holiday song, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” But did you know that each of the 12 presents also relates to something currently taking place in Central Pennsylvania’s commercial real estate market?
With a little creativity, we’ve found these fun facts that you likely didn’t know about our local real estate market. We’re willing to bet that the next time you hear this song, you’ll associate turtle doves and gold rings with something more than Christmas gifts. Take a look!
Partridge in a Pear Tree: Pennsylvania farmers of specialty crops will benefit from nearly $925,000 in federal grants dedicated to research, education and marketing to help strengthen the industry. This grant may not call out pear trees per se, but it does include the National Peach Council and the Pennsylvania Apple Marketing and Research Program.
2 Turtle Doves: After eight years without a direct flight to the state’s capital, “turtle doves” flying from Pittsburgh are finally able to get a nonstop ticket to Harrisburg, fixing a big missing link between the two cities. Beginning in October, Southern Airways Express began offering three daily flights to Harrisburg on weekdays and one each weekend day in an effort to position themselves as “Pennsylvania’s airline.”
3 French Hens: Suez, a French-based multinational corporation, is the second largest supplier of water to U.S towns and cities. Suez provides services to many Central PA communities. In November, Suez opened a new advanced water treatment plant that deploys innovative and highly-effective water treatment processes in Bloomsburg, PA.
4 Calling Birds: Comcast has laid 50 miles of fiber-optic transmission lines throughout Center City Philadelphia and University City. This $30 million project will provide companies on commercial corridors, such as Market Street, with superfast data speeds. It extends the Comcast backbone network to 3,000 Philadelphia businesses and big institutions, among them the University of Pennsylvania and the Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals complex.
5 Gold Rings: The Olympics are contributing to our economic growth right here in Central Pennsylvania. Spooky Nook, home of the Olympic Women’s Field Hockey Team, is having a strong economic impact on the local community that extends beyond Lancaster County. More than 450 new jobs have been created with the opening of the facility in 2015. Through partnerships with over 65 regional hotel properties, the business has contributed more than 60,000 room nights within a 50 mile radius of the location in 2014.
6 Geese a-Laying: We’ve taken a little creative liberty here by replacing geese for a crane, but it’s a pretty interesting fact nonetheless! Philadelphia has an interactive “Crane Watch” website where you can see all of the city’s commercial real estate projects in progress.
7 Swans a-Swimming: A proposed Aquatic Center in Derry Township could be another catalyst for local economic growth. The facility could host large swimming competitions and would also include therapy pools for health and wellness partners as well as a recreational pool.
8 Maids a-Milking: Pennsylvania is still the 5th largest U.S. milk producing state, but may not continue to hold this position for long. An overall decline in fluid milk sales has caused more milk to be used to produce other dairy items such as yogurt. Additionally, Pennsylvania’s rolling herd average is the lowest of its closest competing states.
9 Ladies Dancing: When it comes to Central Pennsylvania’s nightlife, it appears that the ladies prefer to “dance” on the West Shore. Several restaurants that have locations in downtown Harrisburg have opened second locations on the West Shore, including Cork and Fork, Duke’s, Gilligan’s and Federal Taphouse. While many people hope that this will encourage more people to venture into downtown Harrisburg for even more dining options, it remains evident that crossing shores is just too far to travel for some.
10 Lords a-Leaping: Central Pennsylvania landlords are having a banner year as vacancies are down and rental rates are up. With more single families looking to rent a home over purchasing one, rents have been rising all across the board – which is all the more reason these landlords are a-leaping!
11 Pipers Piping: Natural gas pipeline companies and residents continue to clash on the issue of pipeline safety and gaps in regulation and oversight. The natural gas industry has the potentially to significantly impact the local economy. The Panda Patriot plant alone will contribute an estimated $5.85 billion to the area’s economy, with thousands of jobs created during its construction.
12 Drummers Drumming: 2017 should bring higher wages for a broad range of workers. In 2016, CA, NY, and D.C., passed new laws that would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. PA remained consistent with the federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour; however, there were 15 minimum wage bills in the 2016 legislative session that indicate legislators are “drumming up” momentum to make a change to our state’s minimum wage.
Which of the 12 Days of Christmas in commercial real estate did you find most interesting? Or do you have another suggestion to offer? Share your ideas by commenting below!