Interchange Group is building new $5 million industrial facility in Portsmouth

InterChange Group Inc., a third-party logistics provider based in Harrisonburg, is investing $5 million to put a new location in Portsmouth.

The company and the city of Portsmouth announced that Interchange has purchased 12.5 acres at 2175 Elmhurst Lane where it plans to demolish a former Gwaltney plant this
fall.  InterChange will begin the first phase of construction in spring 2016, which will include 100,000 feet of a total planned site of 200,000 square feet.

Completion of phase I is expected by the end of 2016. InterChange said it would employ materials handlers, truck drivers and office personnel, although it did not give a figure on the number of new expected jobs. The project represents $5 million in new private investment.

InterChange owns and operates more than 1.6 million square feet of industrial facilities in Front Royal, Harrisonburg, Waynesboro and Winchester. “This development is a significant step in our expansion in the commonwealth,” Devon C. Anders, president of InterChange Group Inc. said in a statement. “Specifically, this redevelopment site lies within the ‘beltway’ for efficient access for our customers to and from all three of the ocean terminals.”

InterChange has been doing business for years with the Port of Virginia in Norfolk and the Virginia Inland Port Terminal in Front Royal. “The Port of Virginia’s cargo volumes are continuing to grow, and InterChange’s decision to develop a warehousing operation in Portsmouth helps to expand the logistics infrastructure the port needs to help sustain its growth,” said John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority.