NAI Mertz of PA’s Dave Weaver tells us the Hazleton area’s a rising star as a logistics hub, with its proximity to I-80 (a straight shot to metro New York), I-84 and I-476 (straight shot to greater Philly). Hazleton's Humboldt Industrial Park has become a hot spot for retailer tenants, including Amazon, Hershey, Office Max, Michael's, and a newly opened facility for American Eagle Outfitters. Also, as the area’s population expands, other kinds of development will find a footing.

Recently Woodmont Properties tapped Dave and his colleague Stephen Cole to bring developers to its 191-acre mixed-used development site, Butler Village in Bulter Township, which is near Hazleton and 15 miles from Wilkes Barre. Plans for the seven-parcel site call for 480 apartments, 284 townhouses, 72 single-family houses, and 184k SF of retail and other commercial space. One probable commercial use is MOB and other medical uses, Dave says, which growth in the area will help support (according to the Census Bureau, the 2000s was the first decade since the 1950s that population went up in the area.)