Maybe Route 61 in North Manheim Township isn’t the best place for a mega-warehouse, but there has to be somewhere in the county for growth, the chairman of the Schuylkill County Commissioners says.

Commissioner Larry Padora said at the commissioners weekly meeting Wednesday morning he doubts a proposal to build a warehouse that would cover several hundred acres and require a zoning overlay will come to fruition because the developer behind it is a real estate dealer whom he described as a “quick hitter” who moves in, makes a proposal, and tries to get it through before protests begin.

“But we need locations we can develop,” Padora said. “The county needs growth. The land has to have the infrastructure to handle the development. That (Route 61) wasn’t the right place. But on the side of (Interstate) 81, there is a road up there. We need a Highridge II. The county needs growth, but it has to be responsible growth.”

The Highridge Business Park off Interstate 81 has several large warehouses, including Lowe’s, Wegmans and Walmart. Plus there are warehouses to the north in the Hazleton area and to the south in Berks County.

At last week’s commissioners meeting, a group that identified itself as Stop 61 Warehouses — which has established a website of the same name — had formed to stop the proposal from becoming a reality.