Dutch Gold Honey's Rohrerstown facility sold for $31M in leaseback deal

Dutch Gold Honey has sold its Rohrerstown plant and offices to an out-of-state investor for $31 million and plans to continue operating the facility under a lease for at least another 20 years.

According to a deed recorded in the Lancaster County courthouse earlier this month, the honey packing company sold the facility at 2220 Dutch Gold Drive in East Hempfield Township to Fundamental Income Properties of Phoenix, Arizona.

The transaction includes the 187,288-square-foot facility and neighboring 11,000-square-foot warehouse that sit on about 21 acres northwest of Rohrerstown Road (Route 741) and Marietta Avenue (Route 23).

Fundamental is a real estate investor that specializes in buying commercial and industrial properties occupied by mid-sized companies. Leaseback deals like the one with Dutch Gold allow companies to realize the market value of their facilities while they remain in them, according to Fundamental’s website.

Dutch Gold signed a 20-year lease to remain in the facility until 2045, according to a separate document filed with the recorder of deeds office the same day the sale was recorded. The lease includes an option for another nine years and 10 months, which would take the company past its 100th anniversary in 2046.

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In a statement emailed to LNP | LancasterOnline, Nancy J. Gamber, president of Dutch Gold Honey Inc. and Gamber Glass Container Inc., confirmed the company’s plans to remain in its current home. Gamber Glass Container Inc. is a companion company that does business under the name Gamber Container Inc.

“The Gamber family remains committed to the future growth of both Dutch Gold Honey and Gamber Glass Container. Both companies were founded by my parents, Ralph and Luella Gamber, and currently occupy the 2220 Dutch Gold Drive location. The extended, long-term lease back ensures we have space for expansion right here in Lancaster County,” Gamber wrote.

Efforts to contact the company for additional comment were unsuccessful.

Dutch Gold got its start in Lancaster city in 1946. The idea for packaging honey in bear-shaped plastic jars was reportedly born during a 1957 dinner party the company’s founders hosted for another beekeeping couple, and helped fuel Dutch Gold’s growth.

The Dutch Gold Drive facility was built in 1974 and has been expanded over the years, including a 100,000-square-foot warehouse addition completed in 2015. Honey collected from sources across the country and abroad is packaged for distribution at the plant, which also houses distribution for Gamber Container.

Dutch Gold Honey is bottled for private labels including supermarkets, and its own brand. It’s also sold in bulk to businesses that use it in the making of a range of food products including cereal, salad dressing, cookies and barbecue sauce.

The company employed 68 people as of 2016.

Fundamental Income Properties didn’t return a call seeking comment.