Northmarq completes sale of two manufactured housing communities in Pennsylvania’s fast-growing Lehigh and Luzerne counties

BALTIMORE (August 12, 2024) — Anthony Pino, associate broker of Manufactured Housing Investment Sales, and Ari Azarbarzin, senior vice president in Northmarq’s Baltimore office, have completed the sale of Birch Knoll and Saucon Valley Crossing, two manufactured housing communities in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley totaling 163 lots.  

Birch Knoll features 92 lots located at 130 South Pine Street in Hazleton, Luzerne County. Built in 1989, the property offers an excellent investment opportunity in one of the fastest-growing regions in Pennsylvania.

Pino and Azarbarzin represented the seller of both sites, ME Management of State College, PA. The buyer and the sale price were not disclosed.

“Saucon Valley Crossing and Birch Knoll are two high-quality manufactured housing communities that have provided much-needed affordable housing in the Eastern Pennsylvania region for decades,” said Pino. “ME Management has done an excellent job managing and improving the communities over more than a decade. We are confident that the new owners will build upon the legacy of the previous owners and serve as excellent stewards of the communities.”

Saucon Valley Crossing is located at 5002 Route 309 in Center Valley, Lehigh County and offers single and double lots. The 71-lot manufactured housing community was built in 1947 and is close to Pennsylvania Route 309 and Interstate 78 as well as shopping, entertainment and dining.

“Hazleton's proximity to major highway systems such as I-80 and I-81 creates an ease of access to major cities including Philadelphia, Boston and New York,” said Pino. “The area is evolving into a warehousing and logistics hub populated by such prominent employers as Amazon, Hershey, FedEx and Frito-Lay. Amid steady population growth, Hazleton and Luzerne are well poised for compounding growth and revitalization over the next several decades.”  

Currently, developers have submitted plans to Hazleton to build an additional 25,820,000 square feet of warehouses and other logistics centers on land that has laid dormant for years. Planners expect the new centers to provide an estimated 5,000 new jobs for the region.  

The Lehigh Valley metropolitan statistical area was recently ranked the fastest-growing region in Pennsylvania for inbound migration among millennials. The region also ranked in the top four percent nationally for total inbound migration. The area was also ranked second in the country among mid-sized markets — encompassing those with a population between 200,000 and one million — by Site Selection magazine for economic development projects announced or completed in 2022.

Pino and Azarbarzin are based in Northmarq’s Baltimore office.

Learn more about Northmarq's Manufactured Housing specialty group.