Monroe County’s largest proposed warehouse clears final hurdle as commissioners vote 4-1. The 702,000-square-foot facility will be built on nearly 75 acres of cleared forest in Pocono Township.

TANNERSVILLE — On November 17, the Pocono Township Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the final land development plan for Core5 Industrial Partners’ controversial Warner Road warehouse, ending a three-year fight in Monroe County that pitted the Atlanta-based developer against residents, environmental groups, and critics who warned the project would devastate local waterways and destroy a quiet residential neighborhood.

Commissioner Ellen Gnandt cast the lone dissenting vote.

The 702,000-square-foot distribution center will rise on land that currently sits as forest adjacent to approximately 22 homes. To build it, Core5 will clearcut nearly 75 acres of trees and construct on top of protected wetlands—a prospect that drew fierce opposition from the moment plans were first unveiled in 2022.

No tenant has been announced for the facility.

The Project

Core5 Industrial Partners, headquartered in Atlanta, plans to construct one of the largest warehouses in Monroe County history along Warner Road in Pocono Township.

The project includes:

• A 702,000-square-foot warehouse building (equivalent to roughly 12 football fields)
• Truck loading doors
• Trailer parking
• Passenger vehicle parking
• Access drives
• Stormwater basins
• On-site and off-site utilities

The site sits on Warner Road between Interstate 80 and the former Pocono Elementary Center, which closed in 2013. There is no direct access to Interstate 80 from the location—a point residents have repeatedly raised as evidence the site is unsuitable for heavy truck traffic.

Timeline: Three Years of Controversy

August 2022: Pocono Township Planning Commission holds its first public meeting on Core5’s land development application at Northampton Community College’s Monroe Campus. Residents pack the room to voice opposition. Cynthia Anglemyer, whose home sits near the proposed site, tells officials: “This is not the place for a warehouse. There is no exit or entrance onto Route 80 here. It’s not on 611. It’s not on any main road.”

September 2022: Pocono Township declares its zoning ordinance “defective” regarding warehouse, truck terminal, and distribution center uses—a legal acknowledgment that existing rules were inadequate to address such developments. The township begins a six-month process to draft new zoning language.

October 2022: Commissioners move forward with a proposed overlay district to regulate distribution centers. Township Solicitor Leo DeVito Jr. clarifies that Core5 cannot develop anywhere outside the designated overlay zone.

February 2023: Commissioners adopt a curative amendment to the zoning ordinance, adding clear definitions for truck terminals, distribution centers, and warehouses. Environmental advocates express disappointment that the new rules don’t include stronger protections for streams.

March 2024: The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection holds a public hearing on the Monroe County project at Pocono Mountain School District’s Swiftwater Elementary Center from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Residents and environmental advocates testify against the project. State Representative Maureen Madden speaks to the crowd protesting the warehouse.

January 14, 2025: PA DEP quietly approves Core5’s stormwater permit. The public is not notified until February 1—leaving only 14 days of the 30-day appeal window remaining. Residents and advocates cry foul, suggesting the delay was intentional.

February 2025: At a commissioners meeting, resident Cheryl Parks reads a letter criticizing the township for granting Core5 sixteen waivers for the project. Parks calls out commissioners for not publicly posting information about the DEP ruling.

March 2025: PennFuture, an environmental advocacy group, files an appeal against the DEP permit. Attorney Brigitte Meyer identifies what she calls a critical error: the stormwater filtration report submitted in the application was for “a completely different project and site”—a separate Core5 warehouse formerly proposed on Stadden Road.

August 18, 2025: An indemnification agreement between Pocono Township and Core5 is unanimously approved by all voting commissioners, allowing the developer to “commence earthmoving and related site work.”

November 17, 2025: Pocono Township Board of Commissioners votes 4-1 to approve the final land development plan. Commissioner Ellen Gnandt casts the lone vote against approval.

The 16 Waivers

One of the most contentious aspects of the project has been the number of waivers Pocono Township granted to Core5.

Lisa Buchholz, president of Pocono Regional Citizens Group, told officials at a March 2024 DEP hearing that her Monroe County-based organization paid for a private engineer to review Core5’s documents. She criticized Pocono Township commissioners for approving 16 waivers, some of which she said lowered barriers to stormwater permit approval.

Among the waivers approved at the February 18, 2025 commissioners meeting:

• Waiver 390-57.C (partial)
• Waiver 390-29
• Waiver 390-43.A(6)(e)[2][a]
• Waiver 365-8

Commissioner Ellen Gnandt questioned whether a traffic study had been done and asked about the purpose of man-made slopes on the project.

Environmental Concerns in Monroe County

The Pocono Township warehouse will be built on land that borders Pocono Creek, a high-quality trout fishing stream in Monroe County. Water from Pocono Creek flows into the Lehigh River.

In April 2023, the Lehigh River was added to American Rivers’ list of most endangered rivers in the country—in part due to warehouse development in Monroe County and the broader Poconos region.

“At least you start out with clean water. But then once you start to degrade that, then those degradations then compound,” said Eric Kohut of the Lehigh River Watershed. “And so as the water flows downstream, it starts picking up the contaminants, it starts picking up the road salt, it starts warming up as it continues to flow downstream.”

Pocono Township’s roads already flood regularly during heavy rainfall. State Route 611 has been temporarily closed twice in recent years due to flooding. Residents fear that clearcutting forest and exposing the floodplain will worsen runoff from both stormwater and industrial uses.

Rose Walsh, who lives about a mile from the project site, raised emergency response concerns at a 2024 public hearing.

“If Stadden Road floods out, how are they going to get to me? They’ll have to go up 715 to Reeders Run, come over, pick me up, go back out down Reeders Run to get me to a hospital. That’s a lot of extra time,” Walsh said. “Please don’t do this to us. That’s a beautiful creek.”

Pocono Township Resident Opposition

Rebecca Smith bought her home in Pocono Township, Monroe County, hoping to spend time with her grandchildren and enjoy the outdoors. Now, she says, a massive warehouse threatens to take that away.

Smith’s property on Kevin’s Lane already floods regularly. She worries that clearing nearly 75 acres of forest will make the problem worse—and potentially contaminate her drinking water.

“I would love to ask them, ‘Would they want this in their backyard and how would they feel about their drinking water being contaminated?'” Smith said in a March 2025 interview. “Because I bet their answer would be ‘No.'”

Samantha Lisk offered a more visceral critique at a 2024 hearing: “Picture this: instead of pesky frogs croaking, slimy fish flopping, we’ve got forklifts beeping and the gentle trickle of poisonous runoff to lull us to sleep.”

What Comes Next for Pocono Township

With final land development approval in hand, Core5 can proceed with site preparation and construction in Pocono Township.

The company has not announced a tenant for the Monroe County facility. When plans were first introduced in 2022, no business had been lined up to occupy the warehouse—and that remains the case today.

Core5 also has a second, smaller warehouse proposal pending in Pocono Township: a 302,400-square-foot facility on Stadden Road that would be linked to the Warner Road site. That project remains under review.

Pocono Township Officials

Pocono Township Board of Commissioners:

• Richard Wielebinski, President
• Natasha Leap, Vice President
• Ellen Gnandt, Commissioner
• Mike Velardi, Commissioner
• Brian Winot, Commissioner

Staff:

• Jerrod Belvin, Township Manager
• Leo DeVito Jr., Township Solicitor (Broughal & DeVito, L.L.P.)
• Jon Tresslar, Township Engineer
• James Wagner, Chief of Police
• Patrick Briegel, Public Works Director

Pocono Township Municipal Building is located at 205 Old Mill Road, Tannersville, PA 18372, Monroe County. Phone: 570-629-1922.

By the Numbers

• 702,000: Square feet of warehouse space
• 75: Acres of forest to be cleared
• 22: Approximate number of nearby homes
• 16: Waivers granted by Pocono Township
• 3: Stormwater basins planned
• 12: Football fields’ worth of building footprint
• 3+: Years from initial proposal to final approval
• 0: Tenants announced

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Core5 Industrial Partners is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment throughout the approval process.

Environmental groups involved in opposing the Monroe County project include PennFuture, Pocono Regional Citizens Group, and the Brodhead Watershed Association.