The short version
- From the Chester and Marcus Hook riverfront to Radnor, we buy industrial property in all 49 Delaware County municipalities, as-is, with no commission or fees from us.
- The transfer tax is 2% in most of Delaware County, according to the county's Recorder of Deeds. It's 2.5% in Radnor, Upper Darby and the City of Chester, and 3% in Upper Providence Township.
- Upper Darby requires a resale certificate, with a full inspection, before most sales, commercial included. The City of Chester requires each new owner of commercial premises to get its own use and occupancy permit.
- Cushman & Wakefield counted 11.0% of the county's tracked industrial space vacant in the third quarter of 2026, with nothing under construction.
- Cushman & Wakefield put Delaware County's average net asking rent for warehouse and distribution space at $14.95 per square foot a year in the third quarter of 2026. That was second only to Philadelphia's among the seven counties we buy in.
From Chester and Marcus Hook to Upper Darby, Direct Warehouse Buyers buys industrial buildings across Delaware County. We're part of a family-owned business that has been operating for over 15 years. Our own company is the buyer, so the building sells as-is, with no listing, no repairs and no commission.
Heavy industry runs through Marcus Hook, Trainer, Chester and Eddystone, home to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex, the Trainer Refinery and PSA Penn Terminals. Inland, the region's planning commission names two local manufacturing and distribution centers, Aston-Bethel and Concord. The transfer tax is higher than 2% in four municipalities, and resale rules vary too.
Delaware County at a glance
- Municipalities
- 49: the City of Chester, 27 boroughs and 21 townshipsSource: the Delaware County Planning Department's 2026 directory, checked October 2026
- Industrial space tracked
- 8.0 million sq ft, 11.0% vacant, nothing under construction (Q3 2026)Source: Cushman & Wakefield, Q3 2026
- Warehouse asking rent
- $14.95 per sq ft a year, net, for warehouse and distribution space (Q3 2026)Source: Cushman & Wakefield, Q3 2026
- Transfer tax
- 2% in most municipalities; 2.5% in Radnor, Upper Darby and Chester City; 3% in Upper Providence TownshipSource: Delaware County Recorder of Deeds, checked October 2026
- Freight centers
- 6 named by the region's planning commission, plus Philadelphia International Airport, which it lists under both Philadelphia and Delaware CountySource: DVRPC, 2025
- Major industrial sites
- The Marcus Hook Industrial Complex, the Trainer Refinery and PSA Penn Terminals in EddystoneSources: Energy Transfer, Monroe Energy and PSA, checked October 2026
- Main highways
- I-95, I-476 (the Blue Route), US 1, US 322 and Route 291, the Industrial HighwaySources: PennDOT and Wikipedia, checked October 2026
Do you buy warehouses and industrial buildings in Delaware County?
Yes. Direct Warehouse Buyers buys in all 49 Delaware County municipalities. That could be a warehouse in Folcroft, a plant in Chester or Marcus Hook, a flex building in Aston or Concord or a truck yard in Ridley Township. Any size or condition works, vacant or leased, and we buy as-is.
Older riverfront buildings, small shops in the boroughs and buildings that need work are all welcome. If a building has one loading door, a leaking roof or a tenant on a lease from years ago, we'll still look at it. See what we buy for the full list.
How much is the transfer tax when you sell an industrial building in Delaware County?
It depends on the municipality. Most of Delaware County charges 2%: 1% to the state and 1% local. The county's Recorder of Deeds lists four exceptions: 2.5% in Radnor Township, Upper Darby Township and the City of Chester, and 3% in Upper Providence Township. On $2 million, that's $40,000 to $60,000.
| Where the property is | State | Local | Total | Tax on $2 million |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most of the county | 1% | 1% | 2% | $40,000 |
| Radnor Township | 1% | 1.5% | 2.5% | $50,000 |
| Upper Darby Township (since January 1, 2022) | 1% | 1.5% | 2.5% | $50,000 |
| City of Chester (since September 1, 2023) | 1% | 1.5% | 2.5% | $50,000 |
| Upper Providence Township | 1% | 2% | 3% | $60,000 |
Watch the names. Montgomery County has an Upper Providence Township too, and the county's 3% listing covers only the Delaware County township. Chester is both a city and a township here, and only the City of Chester is on the 2.5% list. The title company confirms the rate for your exact address.
Whatever split the agreement of sale sets, the state can collect its full 1% from either of you. The Department of Revenue treats buyer and seller as jointly and severally liable for it. Selling to us adds no commission and no fees, and our written offer spells out who pays each cost. Sell Direct or List? shows how a listing's costs compare.
Our cost guide shows what the 2%, 2.5% and 3% rates come to on a $2,500,000 sale.
Does my Delaware County municipality require an inspection before I sell?
Some do, so confirm yours with the municipality. Upper Darby requires a resale certificate, with a full interior and exterior inspection, before most sales, commercial included. The City of Chester requires each new owner of commercial premises to get its own use and occupancy permit. Eddystone's code calls for a certificate on a change in ownership.
| Municipality | What it requires at a sale | Fee, if published |
|---|---|---|
| Upper Darby Township | A resale certificate before a sale. Commercial properties get a full exterior and interior inspection and a check for open complaints, permits, liens or fees owed to the township. The sewer lateral (the pipe from the building to the public sewer) gets a visual inspection too. The code exempts some transfers, including foreclosures, transfers within a family, vacant land and buildings the buyer will demolish. | Warehouse and manufacturing: $200 to $500 by floor area, plus a $35 administrative fee (December 2025 fee schedule) |
| City of Chester | An annual use and occupancy permit for commercial premises. Permits don't transfer, so each new owner or operator needs one before taking possession. | Set by City Council resolution |
| Eddystone Borough | A certificate of occupancy on a change in ownership of commercial or industrial structures, in the borough code as published online | Set by Council resolution |
| Sharon Hill Borough | Uses a commercial use and occupancy application marked "Resale & Leasing" | $200, as printed on the form |
| Haverford Township | A use and occupancy certificate on resales, residential and non-residential, applied for at least 30 days before settlement | $105 per unit with 30 days to process; $175 with less than 10 days; $300 with less than 5 days (2026 fee schedule) |
| Radnor Township | A use and occupancy certificate before a new owner occupies or uses any residential or nonresidential building it acquires. The seller applies at least 30 days before settlement, or 14 days if settlement is less than 30 days after the agreement of sale. | $150 per property, or $300 expedited (2026 fee schedule); the certificate is valid for 12 months |
| Newtown Township | A certificate of occupancy before title to a building, residential or commercial, passes to a new owner | $125 for a commercial or industrial application (January 2026 form) |
Other municipalities write their rules differently. Ridley Township's Chapter 225, for example, calls for an inspection at a change of ownership but is written for rental dwelling units. Eddystone's online code is current only through 2013, so we confirm its current practice with the borough. If your municipality isn't in the table, ask us and we'll check its rule with you.
A list of violations doesn't have to sink a sale. In Upper Darby and elsewhere, Pennsylvania's Act 133 of 2016 lets the sale go ahead with a temporary certificate when the resale inspection finds violations. Our FAQ explains how it works. Because we buy as-is, we price the repairs instead of asking you to make them.
How is the Delaware County industrial market doing in 2026?
In the third quarter of 2026, Cushman & Wakefield counted 11.0% of the 8.0 million square feet it tracks in Delaware County vacant. Occupied space rose 25,477 square feet in 2026 through September, and nothing was under construction. Asking rent for warehouse and distribution space averaged $14.95 per square foot a year, net.
| Measure | Delaware County |
|---|---|
| Industrial space tracked | 8,035,883 sq ft |
| Vacant | 882,114 sq ft (11.0%) |
| Net absorption (change in occupied space), 2026 through September | +25,477 sq ft |
| Leasing, 2026 through September | 37,477 sq ft |
| Under construction | None |
| Warehouse and distribution asking rent | $14.95 per sq ft |
Among the seven counties we buy in, only Philadelphia's average asking rent for warehouse and distribution space was higher in the quarter ($15.14). Lower Bucks was $13.42, Montgomery County $12.12 and Burlington County, New Jersey, $14.51. Cushman & Wakefield's key sales for the quarter include 300-500 Springbrooke Boulevard in Delaware County: 499,154 square feet, sold by Trammell Crow to Cabot for $114.0 million.
Brokerages track different sets of buildings. Cushman & Wakefield's Delaware County count, 8.0 million square feet, is the smallest of the seven we buy in. One large lease or vacancy can move its rate a lot. These are net asking rents per square foot per year, the advertised figure before any negotiation. On a net lease, the tenant also pays some or all of the property taxes, insurance and upkeep.
Where are Delaware County's industrial areas?
The heaviest industry sits along Routes 291 and 13, which Delaware County calls the Industrial Heritage Parkway, through Marcus Hook, Trainer, Chester, Eddystone, Ridley Township and Tinicum. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) classes Chester-Eddystone and Marcus Hook-Trainer as heavy industrial, Darby-Folcroft and Upper Chichester as distribution centers, and Aston-Bethel and Concord as local manufacturing.
DVRPC's 2025 update groups the county's centers like this:
- Heavy industrial (large factories, refineries and mills): Chester-Eddystone and Marcus Hook-Trainer
- Distribution and logistics ("ample warehousing space and highway connectivity"): Darby-Folcroft and Upper Chichester
- Local manufacturing and distribution (smaller, general-purpose buildings used by small businesses): Aston-Bethel and Concord
- International gateway: Philadelphia International Airport, which DVRPC lists under both Philadelphia and Delaware County
Major industrial sites
- Marcus Hook Industrial Complex: formerly the Marcus Hook Refinery. Energy Transfer's fact sheet says it's owned by Sunoco Partners Marketing and Terminals, an Energy Transfer subsidiary. The fact sheet describes six tanks holding about 3 million barrels of propane, ethane and butane, plus 2 million barrels in underground caverns.
- Trainer Refinery: Monroe Energy's 185,000-barrel-a-day refinery, which straddles Trainer, Marcus Hook and Chester and makes jet fuel, gasoline, diesel, propane and home heating oil. Delta Air Lines formed Monroe Energy in 2012.
- PSA Penn Terminals: a privately owned multipurpose marine terminal at 1 Saville Avenue in Eddystone. Its operator calls it "a key component of the perishable cargo handling infrastructure of the Delaware River."
- Boeing: in Ridley Township, where Boeing described its manufacturing and production facilities in 2020 as building military rotorcraft, including the H-47 Chinook and V-22 Osprey.
Not all of the riverfront is industrial. On the Chester waterfront, the WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a 170,000-square-foot sports and recreation complex next to Subaru Park, opened in July 2025.
PennDOT's project pages list US 322 as the Conchester Highway through Concord, Bethel and Upper Chichester townships. They list US 1 as State Road, the Media Bypass and Baltimore Pike through the boroughs of Media and Chester Heights and Concord, Marple, Middletown, Springfield and Upper Providence townships. Route 291 is the Industrial Highway. I-95 enters Pennsylvania in Lower Chichester Township and runs through Chester, Ridley Township and Tinicum, and I-476, the Blue Route, begins at I-95 in Ridley Township. US 322 crosses to New Jersey on the Commodore Barry Bridge.
What if my Delaware County building has environmental problems?
We buy buildings with tanks, spills and open cleanup cases anywhere in Delaware County, and we price the work in. If any part of your site went through Pennsylvania's Act 2 Land Recycling Program, bring the reports. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, Act 2's liability protection extends to future owners.
Share what you know early, even if it's only something a previous owner mentioned. The environmental section of our FAQ goes into more detail, and our page on environmental problems covers old tanks and Act 2.
What should I have ready to sell a warehouse in Delaware County?
The address is enough to start. These help us firm up an offer:
- The municipality, so we can confirm the transfer tax rate and resale rule that apply
- Any resale certificate or use and occupancy paperwork you've already started
- Leases or a rent roll, if the building is occupied
- Building and land size, clear height and loading
- Environmental reports, tank records and any letters from the DEP
Send what you have, and we'll ask for the rest as we go. How It Works covers each step from the first call to closing. If you're weighing a listing too, our seller's guide compares listing, selling direct and the other ways to sell.
Towns and areas we serve in Delaware County
A riverfront plant in Chester or Marcus Hook, a warehouse in Upper Darby, flex space in Media or a building in Radnor: all of them fit. We buy in the City of Chester and every Delaware County borough and township.
City of Chester
Boroughs (27)
- Aldan
- Brookhaven
- Chester Heights
- Clifton Heights
- Collingdale
- Colwyn
- Darby Borough
- East Lansdowne
- Eddystone
- Folcroft
- Glenolden
- Lansdowne
- Marcus Hook
- Media
- Millbourne
- Morton
- Norwood
- Parkside
- Prospect Park
- Ridley Park
- Rose Valley
- Rutledge
- Sharon Hill
- Swarthmore
- Trainer
- Upland
- Yeadon
Townships (21)
- Aston
- Bethel
- Chadds Ford
- Chester Township
- Concord
- Darby Township
- Edgmont
- Haverford
- Lower Chichester
- Marple
- Middletown
- Nether Providence
- Newtown
- Radnor
- Ridley
- Springfield
- Thornbury
- Tinicum
- Upper Chichester
- Upper Darby
- Upper Providence
Common place names and the municipalities they're in
Delaware County mail often goes to a community name rather than the township. Here's where those communities sit:
- Drexel Hill: Upper Darby Township
- Havertown: Haverford Township
- Broomall: Marple Township
- Newtown Square: Newtown Township
- Wallingford: Nether Providence Township
- Boothwyn: Upper Chichester Township
- Linwood: Lower Chichester Township
- Folsom, Woodlyn and Holmes: Ridley Township
- Essington and Lester: Tinicum Township
- Village Green-Green Ridge: Aston Township
- Glen Mills: Concord Township, though the Glen Mills ZIP code crosses many boundaries
- Wayne: Radnor Township, though Wayne addresses also reach into Tredyffrin Township (Chester County) and Upper Merion Township (Montgomery County)
- Bryn Mawr and Villanova: Radnor Township, shared with Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, and Bryn Mawr also reaches into Haverford Township
Other places we buy
We also buy in Philadelphia, Bucks County and Montgomery County, and across the river in Camden County, Burlington County and Gloucester County, New Jersey. See the map of all seven counties.
Sources
- Delaware County Planning Department: 2026 Municipal Officials Directory
- Delaware County Recorder of Deeds: Transfer taxes (updated September 8, 2026)
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: Realty transfer tax
- Cushman & Wakefield: Philadelphia Industrial MarketBeat, Q3 2026
- DVRPC: Freight Centers, 2025 Update Process (June 2025)
- Pennsylvania Act 133 of 2016: resale use and occupancy certificates
- Pennsylvania DEP: Land Recycling Program (Act 2)
- Upper Darby Township Code, Chapter 417 (Property Maintenance): resale certificates and § 290-3C: resale certificate fees, and the Township's use and occupancy fee schedule (December 2025)
- City of Chester Code, § 174-5: commercial premises
- Eddystone Borough Code, § 97-3: certificates of occupancy
- Sharon Hill Borough: Commercial use and occupancy application
- Ridley Township Code, Chapter 225: rental dwelling units
- Haverford Township: Use and occupancy and 2026 fee schedule
- Radnor Township Code, Chapter 142 (transfer of property) and 2026 fee schedule, and Newtown Township Code, Chapter 69
- Energy Transfer: Marcus Hook Industrial Complex fact sheet (hosted by Pennsylvania DEP)
- Monroe Energy: The Trainer Refinery and why Monroe Energy
- PSA: PSA Penn Terminals (April 2026)
- Boeing: Philadelphia-area operations, Ridley Township (April 2020)
- WSFS Bank: Sportsplex opens in Chester (July 2025) and Delaware County: Philadelphia Union development along the Chester waterfront (2022)
- Delaware County Planning: Route 291/13 Industrial Heritage Parkway guidelines (2015)
- PennDOT: US 322 improvements, US 1 Media Bypass project and Route 291 resurfacing (May 2025)
- Wikipedia: Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania, Interstate 476, Logan Township (Commodore Barry Bridge) and the articles on each place name listed
The rates, rules and market figures on this page come from the sources listed here, last checked in October 2026. Municipal rules and fees change, so confirm yours with the municipality before you rely on it.
