The latest edition of the Lehigh Valley Commercial Real Estate Report highlights recent activity in the marketplace and plans by global semiconductor developer Infinera for a major expansion in the Lehigh Valley.

The cover article, “Recharging the Original Silicon Valley,” outlines how Infinera’s new advanced testing and packaging facility in Bethlehem will grow the Lehigh Valley’s legacy of global leadership in technological innovation. The first mass production of transistors, the forerunner to semiconductors, occurred at Western Electric in Allentown in 1951. 

“Lehigh Valley was the original Silicon Valley, and many of the talented engineers and developers remain here,” said Don Cunningham, President and CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC). “Infinera has been a significant part of the extensive semiconductor sector in the Lehigh Valley that goes back to the development of the transistor by Bell Labs and Western Electric.”

Infinera’s current advanced testing and packaging facility in Upper Macungie Township employs about 300 people who design, manufacture, package, assemble, and test optoelectronic packages and modules built around Infinera’s unique optical, compound semiconductor photonic integrated circuits.

The new facility would be built with funding from the federal CHIPS and Science Act.

Published each quarter by LVEDC, the Lehigh Valley Commercial Real Estate Report provides a detailed overview of industrial and office market activity, notable real estate transactions, and population and labor force trends. The newest edition covers data from the third quarter of 2024.

The digital version of the new issue can be downloaded here, and hard copies are available upon request.

The third quarter report shares information about Gov. Josh Shapiro announcing a $2.5 million grant to support the development of the Lehigh Valley Semiconductor Center in Bethlehem, a hub where early-stage semiconductor and technology companies can grow in partnership with higher education.

The report notes how the Allentown Economic Development Corporation is preserving urban manufacturing sites in the Lehigh Valley, and how an industrial property in Easton could be revitalized. 

The key activity occurring in the Lehigh Valley commercial real estate marketplace highlighted in the report includes:

• The purchase of an industrial facility in Bethlehem by EQT Exeter for $14.9 million.
• The purchase of an office in Macungie by Kingsbarn Realty Capital for $14.2 million.
• Logistics provider Western Post leased a 1 million-square-foot facility in Upper Nazareth Township.
• FLSmidth, a global supplier of equipment for the cement and mining industries, leased a 122,000-square-foot facility in Allen Township for assembly and distribution.