IBEW Local 98 is moving operations to the Navy Yard in South Philly

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 is planning to move to the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania State University has proposed selling two properties to the union and the entity that does apprentice training for IBEW Local 98.

Business manager Mark Lynch Jr. said the union would move its base of operations to the Navy Yard properties.

“Candidly, we’ve outgrown our two Spring Garden Street properties,” Lynch said. “We look at this move as a wise, strategic investment in a growing corporate hub that places IBEW Local 98 alongside many of the most dynamic corporations in our region. The synergies and potential collaborations are endless.”

It’s unclear what the union plans to do with properties on Spring Garden Street.

The university’s board of trustees is scheduled to vote this week on the sale of 4960 S. 12th St. to the union for $11.25 million and 1101 Kitty Hawk Ave. to the Electrical Workers Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust Fund for $7.25 million.

Each of the properties is just over an acre in size.

The buildings were previously used for academic programming, administrative offices, research, and Penn State Extension within the university’s College of Agricultural Sciences. The buildings also housed business incubator and event space.

“The properties were underutilized recently, so the remaining offices were relocated to other Penn State locations so that the properties could be sold,” Penn State spokesperson Wyatt DuBois said.

The Navy Yard has grown into a major employment hub over the last two decades, now home to more than 150 companies and 15,000 jobs within its 1,200 acres. Such companies as Urban Outfitters and Rite Aid are headquartered there.

According to Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., the master developer for the Navy Yard, most of the people who work there drive to the area, and there have been discussions recently about whether to expand SEPTA service there.

Staff reporters Susan Snyder and Jake Blumgart contributed to this report.