Lackawanna, NY Recently completed and tenant ready, Uniland Development Company’s second spec industrial warehouse facility at Renaissance Commerce Park has announced its first tenant will be KPM Exceptional LLC (KPM) headquartered in Landing, N.J. KPM will occupy 65,000 s/f in the new 150,000 s/f building located at 2 Steelworkers Way, which completed construction in December 2023. KPM is expected to take occupancy in the first quarter, 2024.
A regional distributor of outdoor power equipment, KPM has been in the wholesale distribution business for over 65 years. The N.Y. division of KPM has occupied a 50,000 s/f facility located in Derby, N.Y. since 2008. Unfortunately, that facility had a catastrophic loss of a new two-year-old warehouse structure that collapsed due to the six foot snowstorm in November of 2022. KPM Exceptional currently employs 68 employees.
Uniland account executive Charlie Callahan and Robert Stewart from Pyramid Brokerage Company worked with KPM to identify the property at 2 Steelworkers Way and keep the business in Western New York.
“2 Steelworkers Way is a beautiful building. The facility’s features and location made our decision to move into Uniland’s Lackawanna location very easy,” said Jeffrey Fierle, vice president of New Product Development for KPM. “The entire staff at Uniland are extremely professional and very easy to work with. Changes to specific dock door dimensions, lighting, office locations, and interior designs were never an issue. They even have staff help in choosing office wall colors, floor coverings, door trims, and furniture. Working with Uniland was a real pleasurable experience.”
2 Steelworkers Way is Uniland’s second industrial warehouse at Renaissance Commerce Park following the opening of the 8 Dona St. warehouse in early 2023. Built on spec – meaning without an anchor tenant – the 8 Dona facility is fully leased, including tenants Total Quality Assurance International (TQAI), which occupies 108,000 s/f, and Max Advanced Brakes — who is undertaking their first US expansion — who will occupy the remaining 42,000 s/f.
“We are glad to welcome KPM Exceptional to 2 Steelworkers Way and to support their continued growth in Western New York,” said Michael Montante, CEO of Uniland Development Co. “Uniland pursued spec industrial development at Renaissance Commerce Park to meet the local market need for warehouse and light manufacturing space. The addition of KPM’s business as a leading wholesale distributor in the US and Canada adds momentum to this emerging industrial hub in Lackawanna in a way that fosters their continued growth.”
Uniland is the first developer to work in partnership with the city of Lackawanna, Erie County, the Erie County Industrial Development Agency (ECIDA) and New York State on Renaissance Commerce Park’s emerging status as a premier light industrial commerce park. The ECIDA’s development arm, the Industrial Land Development Corp. (ILDC), has managed the redevelopment of Renaissance Commerce Park since 2012.
“On behalf of the ECIDA/ILDC and our boards of directors, we welcome KPM Exceptional to Renaissance Commerce Park. I offer sincere congratulations and thanks to Uniland Development—Uniland was an early believer in transforming this former steel plant site, and they have become a valued partner in creating jobs and economic growth at RCP. One of the goals in developing this site was to address the need for available spec-space alternatives for local employers like KPM, who unfortunately lost their previous facility in the 2022 November storm. We are pleased that they are able to retain their local workforce and remain in Erie County,” said ECIDA/ILDC president and CEO John Cappellino.
“It is hard to think of a better way to kick off 2024 than announcing yet another business moving to Renaissance Commerce Park,” said Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz. “KPM is headquartered in New Jersey, but chose to stay in Western New York and grow here in Erie County. This is another testament to the excellent work of all our public and private partners, and Erie County’s ability to compete with anywhere in the world. It is great to see 2 Steelworkers Way have its first tenant.”
“The city of Lackawanna welcomes KPM Exceptional, LLC as the newest member of our growing business community and first tenant of Uniland Development’s new 2 Steelworkers Way facility at Renaissance Commerce Park,” said mayor Annette Iafallo. “We’re grateful to Uniland for the confidence they’ve shown in Lackawanna by way of multi-million dollar investments to create two state-of-the art warehouse facilities at 8 Dona St. and 2 Steelworkers Way within the emerging commerce park – which are providing immediate economic value for the Lackawanna community.”
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