A Chicago-based realty company is planning to build a $34 million, 708,000-square-foot distribution center in Manchester Township by the end of 2013.

The building, to be called First Logistics Center, will sit on a 55.5-acre site off Interstate 83's Exit 24, in Emigsville. It's being developed by First Industrial Realty Trust Inc., an industrial real estate company.

The company is hoping to attract companies servicing customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast regions because of the proposed center's access to the highway, it announced in a press release.

With direct routes to interstates 81, 76, 78, 70 and 95, "companies can service nearly 50 percent of the U.S. population within a one-day truck drive," the company said.

Jeff Thomas, senior regional director, said his company has not yet identified a user for the facility. About 200 workers will be hired for construction, which is expected to begin within the next month, he said.

The center will feature up to 130 dock-high doors, four drive-in doors, 233 auto parking spaces and trailer parking for about 200, the company said.

Businesses using the center can take advantage of a local real estate tax abatement program, First Industrial said.