PHILADELPHIA — Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) has broken ground on the first phase of The Bellwether District, a redevelopment project encompassing 1,300 acres in South Philadelphia. The project will transform the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery into a state-of-the-art innovation, e-commerce and logistics campus.
Demolition of the obsolete industrial site is now substantially complete. The redevelopment will be a 14 million-square-foot campus divided into two areas: 250 acres dedicated to innovation and 750 acres for industrial and logistics facilities.
HRP expects The Bellwether District to augment the life sciences and research infrastructure in nearby University City and to bring supply chain logistics and advanced manufacturing to the site, which is located near Philadelphia International Airport and The Port of Philadelphia.
“When our team arrived here in Philadelphia, we did not see a former refinery — we saw what I believe to be the most strategic piece of real estate east of the Mississippi, if not in the entire United States,” says Roberto Perez, CEO of HRP.
HRP projects that the development of The Bellwether District will create 19,000 direct permanent jobs and nearly 28,000 direct construction jobs over a 10- to 15-year timeline. The groundbreaking marks the first phase of vertical construction on the logistics campus, where lots 15 and 16 will be home to two industrial buildings totaling approximately 1 million square feet.
Last year, PCCP provided a $500 million loan to fund the redevelopment project. HRP acquired the property in 2020 out of bankruptcy.
HRP is also investing in local workforce development programs to diversify the workforce in Philadelphia, helping employers access existing skilled workers and providing training for future workers.
Headquartered in Chicago with offices in Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Miami, HRP is a vertically integrated real estate investment and redevelopment company that reimagines, remediates and redevelops obsolete industrial sites across the U.S.
— Kristin Harlow