Major road upgrades and an influx of new, high-paying jobs could be coming to Falls Township within the next two years as part of a large-scale development.
Following a lengthy presentation, questions from Falls Supervisors and more than a dozen residents – who spoke in favor of and against the Nuuly subscription clothing rental project – the board voted unanimously to rezone two parcels on Penn Valley Road from farming and heavy industrial to materials processing and manufacturing district.
The board also granted preliminary and final land development approval to Nuuly, an Urban Outfitters subsidiary, to construct a 994,257-square-foot industrial building that would house the company’s wet-washing facilities where its clothing rentals would be returned, laundered, and readied for delivery. The site has operated as a quarry since the 1980s. Currently, 100 trucks travel in and out of the site each day, according to attorney Chelsey Jackman, while 200 traveled to and from the site during its historical daily peak.
To help alleviate traffic, Mark Roth of Bowman Consulting said a traffic assessment study will be undertaken. Since Penn Valley Road is a state-owned road, Nuuly will coordinate with PennDOT to undertake upgrades, which will most likely include adding an extra lane, as well as turning lanes and widening along Penn Valley Road and the Route 13 underpass. Also, he said two traffic signals will be upgraded and modernized, and Wheatsheaf Road will be signalized. Nuuly is also looking to connect the site to Tyburn Road.
Dave R., a Falls resident for more than 20 years, said “this is nothing more than an absolute win,” adding that the project will “force road improvements that are needed.”
Nuuly Chief Development Officer Dave Ziel said he anticipates construction commencing in spring 2027 with operations beginning in November 2028.
Once the Falls site is operational,Nuuly’s 380,000-square-foot facility in Bristol Township will close, and its 1,000 employees would be relocated to Falls. Ziel said he began searching more than a year ago for a site where a larger facility could be constructed. It was imperative to remain in Bucks County and to retain Nuuly’s existing employees.
“It’s the only site that could accommodate the size of what we were doing and meet the needs,” Ziel said of the Penn Valley Road site. “Keystone (Trade Center) won’t take us. My use is no longer a component to that operation.”
In addition to the existing 1,000 jobs, Ziel said that once Nuuly is running at full capacity, the company would hire an additional 1,800 employees for a variety of jobs, including warehouse, technical, supervisory, and management. Hourly wages would start at $17 for warehouse staff and range from $39 to $63 an hour for management.
Credit: Submitted
KPK Development owns the land where Nuuly’s facility is planned. As part of the project, a 165.489-acre tract will be subdivided into two lots consisting of 98.802 acres and a 66.687 acres. The Nuuly site will be constructed on the smaller parcel, along with a 2,400-square-foot maintenance shed, a 2,547-square-foot pump house and water tank and a 252-square-foot employee smoking area. KPK would maintain ownership of the other parcel, officials said.
Jackman highlighted overall site improvements planned as part of the project, including to infrastructure and stormwater management, which she noted “does not exist now.” In addition, plans call for the planting of 400 trees, 2,000 shrubs and a similar number of native grasses.
In response to claims of “forever chemicals” and questions about detergents used to launder the clothing, officials said Nuuly uses a closed-loop system to ensure that everything is contained within the facility.
“The laundry pod in your washing machine is not as gentle on the environment as what they use to clean the clothes,” Jackman said.
John Richardson of Dumack Engineering said that water runoff from the site currently drains parallel to Penn Valley Road. Nuuly would install stormwater management systems and rain gardens that would “mimic that condition,” he said.
“The site overall would not harm Martins Creek,” Richardson said. “It would actually benefit it.”
In all, the four rain gardens proposed on five acres would infiltrate the bulk of the water, shifting it away from Martins Creek, according to Heath Dumack of Dumack Engineering.
In terms of emissions, emergency generators would be the only thing that has an emission, according to Ziel.
The site will house 1,503 parking spaces and, at least on the outset, will operate during two work shifts. Once at capacity, Nuuly may add a third work shift, officials said. Besides the Bristol Township location, the only other Nuuly site operates in Kansas City, Missouri.
