Developers buy former AMP plant

A Harrisburg-area development team is at it again.

Tom Flynn, Tony Pascotti and Rick Reynolds, who have undertaken a handful of high-profile construction projects in and around Harrisburg in the last 18 months, have bought a former AMP Inc. manufacturing plant in Swatara Township, Dauphin County.

The Pennsylvania State Police signed a 10-year lease for 40,000 square feet of warehouse space at the 65,000-square-foot building, Pascotti said.

Pascotti's son, Jamie Pascotti, has leased 15,000 square feet, Tony Pascotti said. Jamie Pascotti will use the space to store small kitchen appliances made by his business, L'Equip Inc., based in Lower Allen Township, Cumberland County, Tony Pascotti said. The remaining 10,000 square feet will be reserved for Jamie Pascotti because he expects to need additional warehouse space, his father said.

Flynn, Tony Pascotti and Reynolds paid about $1.2 million in December for the old AMP building at 101 S. 38th St., said Dan Alderman, a real estate agent with NAI/Commercial-Industrial Realty Co. in Wormleysburg. He negotiated the deal. The partners plan to renovate the structure.

Flynn and Pascotti have been active deal makers during the down economy.

"Maybe they're the smart ones," said rival Mark DiSanto, chief executive officer of Triple Crown Corp.

DiSanto said he respects Pascotti's business acumen. Although Pascotti and his partners are juggling various deals at the same time, they are identifying tenants before investing in construction, DiSanto said. That approach should keep them from spreading themselves too thin, said DiSanto, whose firm is based in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County.

Meanwhile, Flynn, Pascotti and Reynolds have begun renovating a 62,000-square-foot warehouse in uptown Harrisburg for Morehouse Publishing, the building's tenant. The partners are raising the ceilings from 14 feet to 30 feet to create more storage space, Pascotti said.

In May, The Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd., London, acquired the parent company of Morehouse Publishing, The Morehouse Group Inc. As a result of the merger, Continuum eliminated its warehouse in Washington, D.C., and moved the work to Morehouse Publishing's Harrisburg warehouse' said Bob Marsh, chief financial officer and treasurer of The Morehouse Group. The company is based in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County.

Morehouse Publishing, which leases 22,000 square feet, will occupy 44,000 square feet once the project is completed, Marsh said. The company hopes it will need the remaining 18,000 square feet within 18 months to distribute products for other companies, he said. If that happens and the business continues to grow, it might buy the building, he said.

The company first plans to add five workers at the warehouse, Marsh said. If the company decides to expand again, it will add five more employees, he said. The business publishes religious books, church school curricula and church supplies.

Flynn, Pascotti and Reynolds paid more than $1 million for that warehouse, at 3 101 N. Seventh St., Pascotti said. They bought the building about 18 months ago from Joe Stine, owner of a defunct local auto parts chain called Joe The Motorists Friend. He operated one of his stores at the warehouse.

The developers plan to spend $1.5 million on renovations, Pascotti said. They hope to complete the work in 60 days, he said. In December, the developers and Morehouse asked the Governor's Action Team and the Dauphin County Department of Community & Economic Development about the possibility of receiving grants for the project, Marsh said. Three weeks ago, Morehouse applied for about $500,000 in grants, he said.