Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) brought together more than 50 of the region’s leading commercial real estate professionals to discuss shared challenges, hear about market trends, and learn how LVEDC can partner with them to attract new businesses. 
LVEDC can provide data to share with prospective companies seeking information during the site selection process. Information about potential state business incentives is also available, Kristin Cahayla-Hoffman, LVEDC’s Vice President of Business Attraction & Development, said at LVEDC’s Brokers & Developers Council meeting on Jan. 16 at the Northampton Community College Fowler Family Center in Bethlehem.
Cahayla-Hoffman encouraged those in attendance, including real estate brokers and developers and construction and engineering firms, to tap resources created by LVEDC. Those resources include marketing publications, videos and the Find a Site tool on LVEDC’s website. Find a Site, available for no charge, shows industrial, office, land, and retail properties for sale or lease in Lehigh and Northampton counties. She encouraged the professionals to make sure their properties are listed on the site.
She also encouraged the real estate professionals to be part of LVEDC’s Prospect Alert network, to receive notice about companies that are looking for space in the region.
Cahayla-Hoffman shared how the Lehigh Valley is growing and has hit new highs in Gross Domestic Product ($55.7 billion) and population (708,000), with employment in manufacturing growing at three times the national rate since 2010, the start of the rebound from the Great Recession.
She also noted that the region is facing some of the same challenges that are occurring nationally. The amount of industrial space under construction, 1.5 million square feet, is near the 12-year-low. The industrial vacancy rate is at its highest point in a decade, at 9%. That’s mainly driven by space available in large properties, more than 100,000 square feet, she said.
Doug Warfel, LVEDC’s Director of Attraction and Lending, provided an update about recent business expansions. He said the region landed 46 industrial and office business openings or expansions in 2025, 16 of them manufacturers.
They include:
Turkish candy manufacturer Kervan USA broke ground on a $20 million, 90,000-square-foot production and packaging facility in Lower Nazareth and Bethlehem townships that will serve as the company’s U.S. headquarters.
Filter King opened a factory in Bethlehem Township to produce HVAC filters for commercial and residential use.
Bronkhorst High-Tech, a Dutch manufacturer of instruments that measure and control pressure and the flow of liquids and gases, moved to a larger location in Hanover Township, Northampton County.
Honeywell, a Fortune 500 company, purchased the liquefied natural gas division of Air Products with plans to expand it by adding 30 positions to bring its workforce in the Lehigh Valley to 120.
The Brokers & Developers Council meeting also included a presentation by Dan Kennedy, CEO of NAIOP New Jersey, and Dave Greek, of Greek Real Estate Partners, about how key partners in the commercial real estate industry in New Jersey are working together through advocacy, education, and research, to effectively communicate the industry's economic impact upon communities and how they can work together with the community to address planning and development obstacles.
Jaime Whalen, LVEDC’s Executive Vice President & Chief of Staff, encouraged the commercial real estate professionals to stay in contact with LVEDC.
“We want to hear from you. Please feel free to engage in conversation,” she said.
Those in attendance at the Brokers & Developers Council meeting were also informed that for the first time, the International Asset Management Council (IAMC) will be holding its Fall Forum in the Lehigh Valley, Sept. 25-29, 2027.
IAMC is the leading trade association for corporate real estate executives serving industrial and manufacturing industries. Cahayla-Hoffman is a member of the council’s Board of Directors.
The biannual fall forum will bring an exclusive national audience of corporate executives, site selectors, brokers, and developers who influence major industrial real estate investments across the country.
The event will be hosted locally by LVEDC. Sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information, contact Cahayla-Hoffman at kcahayla@lehighvalley.org.