Warehouse

HALLTOWN, W.Va. -- A mid-afternoon fire Monday damaged machinery and a warehouse section of Halltown Paperboard, according to Independent Fire Co. Chief Ed Smith. There were no injuries. Firefighters managed to isolate the damage to the warehouse, Smith said. The call came in shortly after 3 p.m. "We found heavy smoke but no people in the warehouse section. They were already evacuated," he said. The plant is on Halltown Road near its intersection with the U.S. 340 bypass.

The property owner of the World Kitchen warehouse on U.S. 11 in Greencastle announced Wednesday the kitchenware provider has signed documents saying it will continue occupying the facility as it undergoes more than $10 million in improvements. Matrix Development Group, which is based in New Jersey, announced in a news release that World Kitchen has signed a full-building lease for the one million-square-foot distribution facility at 1200 South Antrim Way. Renovations will include 20,000 square feet of new corporate office space, replacement of HVAC systems throughout the facility, the incorporation of a new sprinkler system, new roofing, additional truck docks, and a new building envelope consisting of pre-cast concrete and metal panels, according to the news release.

More than 400 logistics and support jobs are expected to land in Franklin County (Pa.) this winter when Ulta Beauty opens a 350,000-square-foot distribution center near Interstate 81 off Kriner Road, according to a county development official. Ulta Beauty, a national retailer of beauty products, recently expanded into the Tri-State area, opening retail stores in Hagerstown and Frederick, Md., and planning a warehouse in Chambersburg. Representatives of the Illinois-based corporation did not return multiple requests for comment on the project.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - When Waynesboro Floor Covering's warehouse was destroyed in a fire in January, owner Chuck Morningstar was not sure he wanted to rebuild. He thought maybe it was time to retire. Morningstar then found out that his son Victor, a sophomore majoring in business management at Shippensburg (Pa.) University, was interested in taking over the business, which had been in the family for two generations. "(The business was) started by my father in 1964, moved here to this location (on North Church Street in Waynesboro)

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - A Tuesday morning fire that destroyed a downtown warehouse is believed to have started in a 1999 Ford Econoline van. The van was parked in the center of the west side of the warehouse near Nu-Way Cleaners on Mulberry Avenue. The blaze spread east through the 50-foot-by-80-foot structure, Waynesboro Volunteer Fire Department officials said. "We were able to contain the fire inside the building," Fire Marshal Jerry Hartman said. Infrared sensors on a burglar alarm were triggered - likely by the flames - and Waynesboro police found all of the windows and doors secure upon arrival.

WILLIAMSPORT - Rust-Oleum Corp., which makes rust preventive paints and coatings, is leasing more warehouse space near Williamsport. Rust-Oleum has signed a lease with BPG Properties Ltd. for 100,000 square feet at Interstate Industrial Park, according to a Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission press release last week. BPG Properties, the real estate investment manager for Berwind Property Group, acquired the building in January 2005, according to the release.

The scene is close to being set. The original brick walls have been sandblasted and exposed. The black industrial beams have been painted. And a hardwood stage has been added to the bare space. In the next few months, the downstairs of the old Tusing warehouse off Potomac Street will go through its final stages and become downtown Hagerstown's new Academy Theater. "It's always been our dream to have a theater of our own," said Ruth Ridenour, president of Potomac Playmakers.

A capital campaign for a new Food Resources Inc. warehouse will get under way Tuesday, June 16, at 5 p.m. at the current headquarters at 930A Eldridge Drive. The planned 10,000-square-foot building will be owned by the non-profit corporation and built on land in the Hagerstown Industrial Park, according to Brad Sell, director. "Currently we are in a rented building on rented land," Sell said. Richard W. Phoebus will be chairman of the "Feed The Need" campaign. "We've already started the campaign and have received some nice contributions," Phoebus said.

A Reading, Pa., development firm plans to build an 840,000-square-foot distribution warehouse for a nationally known company that expects to provide 308 full-time jobs, officials said. The warehouse, which will be the size of 19 football fields, is one of several projects Tiger Development Inc. has planned for about 800 acres near Hopewell Road, said principal partners John Herman and Jeffery Camp. They said the development firm has bought some of the property and has options on the rest.

tarar@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - A warehouse used by the Hagerstown Union Rescue Mission to store donated items caught fire Friday afternoon, and thick smoke could be seen billowing from windows of the four-story brick building. Hagerstown Fire Chief Gary Hawbaker said the fire started in the basement and worked its way up the walls to the different floors. "It was advanced before we were notified," Hawbaker said. The call was dispatched shortly before 1 p.m. to the warehouse near the corner of North Prospect and West Franklin streets.

The property owner of the World Kitchen warehouse on U.S. 11 in Greencastle announced Wednesday the kitchenware provider has signed documents saying it will continue occupying the facility as it undergoes more than $10 million in improvements. Matrix Development Group, which is based in New Jersey, announced in a news release that World Kitchen has signed a full-building lease for the one million-square-foot distribution facility at 1200 South Antrim Way. Renovations will include 20,000 square feet of new corporate office space, replacement of HVAC systems throughout the facility, the incorporation of a new sprinkler system, new roofing, additional truck docks, and a new building envelope consisting of pre-cast concrete and metal panels, according to the news release.

Prompted by a recent complaint about a business on North Prospect Street, a City of Hagerstown planning official presented three suggested revisions to the city's proposed Land Management Code during a city council work session meeting Tuesday. City Planning Director Kathleen Maher shared the revisions with the five-member city council, which included two new definitions for industrial uses in the city's zoning code for a “junkyard” and a “warehouse.” A “junkyard,” which is not permitted in the city, includes processing on-site but not storage, while a “warehouse” would permit temporary storage but not on-site processing, she said.

It's often said that if you really want to find ways to improve your business, ask an employee. At its Hagerstown plant, Volvo did ask - and the result is “significant savings,” according to company representatives. At the recommendation of a team of employees, Volvo has stopped leasing its half of a big warehouse near Maugansville and has made space for the parts storage inside its existing plant north of Hagerstown. The savings on the lease, as well as “all the little components (of expenses)

Food Resources Inc., which has been serving food pantries and individuals in Washington County for more than 20 years, has merged with the Maryland Food Bank, but will continue to serve Western Maryland. Food Resources is now the Maryland Food Bank - Western Branch, said Lynn Jackson, who has served as director of operations since 1997. The warehouse on McRand Court near Hagerstown's West End will continue to serve 26 food pantries in Washington County and two in neighboring Franklin County, Pa., he said.

More than 400 logistics and support jobs are expected to land in Franklin County (Pa.) this winter when Ulta Beauty opens a 350,000-square-foot distribution center near Interstate 81 off Kriner Road, according to a county development official. Ulta Beauty, a national retailer of beauty products, recently expanded into the Tri-State area, opening retail stores in Hagerstown and Frederick, Md., and planning a warehouse in Chambersburg. Representatives of the Illinois-based corporation did not return multiple requests for comment on the project.

Lynn Jackson is director of operations for Food Resources Inc. in Hagerstown. When Lynn Jackson was a boy growing up in Hagerstown in the 1960s, he didn't think twice about the source of his meals. He never considered that there were families in Hagerstown, even in his own neighborhood, that didn't have enough to eat. Now, he knows better. He sees hungry people nearly every day. "I grew up here in the West End," said Jackson. "It just never dawned on me that it was like this, that 2,000 families a month are in need of food.

A Denver real estate investment company praised Hagerstown as a prime distribution hub in a report announcing its agreement to buy a local warehouse for $41.2 million. Industrial Income Trust struck a deal Nov. 30 to buy a roughly 824,000-square-foot warehouse in the Hunters Green Business Park, currently leased to The Home Depot, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “The Hagerstown distribution market has rapidly become a primary hub for East Coast products moving up and down the seaboard,” the company wrote in its SEC report.

HALLTOWN, W.Va. -- A mid-afternoon fire Monday damaged machinery and a warehouse section of Halltown Paperboard, according to Independent Fire Co. Chief Ed Smith. There were no injuries. Firefighters managed to isolate the damage to the warehouse, Smith said. The call came in shortly after 3 p.m. "We found heavy smoke but no people in the warehouse section. They were already evacuated," he said. The plant is on Halltown Road near its intersection with the U.S. 340 bypass.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- The distribution of food for some of Washington County's neediest residents has been cut back until Aug. 10, said Ruth Anne Callaham, executive director of Food Resources Inc. "We are that low that I couldn't fill orders," Callaham said, noting the drastic limitations -- the first in her six years at the central food warehouse -- began July 20. Callaham hopes to stockpile enough food by Aug. 10 to restore allotments to...

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- The federal government has signed a $28 million lease to use about 400,000 square feet of warehouse space at Hunters Green Business Center in Halfway. The U.S. Department of State will use the space as a storage area for employees with overseas assignments, said Robin Ferree, deputy director of the Hagerstown-Washington County Economic Development Commission. Ferree said the Department of State has been leasing space at Top Flight Air Park at Hagerstown Regional Airport.