In a deal that will once again bring millions of dollars of investment to an Ardsley campus as well as the promise of some 200 new jobs, Acorda Therapeutics Inc. is relocating its corporate headquarters from Hawthorne to the 400,000-square-foot property recently bought by BioMed Realty Trust Inc. for $18 million.
The move to Ardsley Park Life Science Center, first reported in the Business Journal April 22, 2011, signifies a significant expansion for Acorda as well as a strategic and profitable purchase by San Diego, Calif.-based BioMed Realty Trust, owner of The Landmark at Eastview in Greenburgh, a 1.1-million-square-foot research and development complex.
Acorda will shift operations in 2012 from about 50,000 square feet of space at 15 Skyline Drive in Mack Cali Realty”™s Mid-Westchester Executive Park to 138,000 square feet at the Ardsley center. The biotech company that develops therapies for multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury and related nervous system disorders signed a 15-year lease at 410 and 412 Saw Mill River Road. It employs 159 workers in Hawthorne and expects to create about 190 new jobs over the next five years.
The 43-acre campus, which totals approximately 400,000 square feet at 410-460 Saw Mill River Road, consists of office, lab, manufacturing and specialty pharmaceutical space. BioMed Realty said some 159,000 square feet is rentable square footage. Company officials said the property provides a total of approximately 500,000 square feet of both existing and non-existing space for future development.
Representing Acorda in the lease transaction with BioMed Realty were David Providenti, executive managing director, corporate services group; Kelly Givens, executive managing director, corporate services group; Peter Capuciati, executive vice president, director; and Ian Zilla, corporate managing director for Studley of New York City.
BioMed Realty estimates it will spend another $18 million on tenant fit-out work for Acorda, which expects to take occupancy by June 2012.
An expanding life-science cluster
The building purchase and lease resurrects the promise for the property as a biotech hub. In May 2009, OSI Pharmaceuticals of Melville, N.Y., decided to relocate from its Long Island headquarters to the campus, then known as the Ardsley Park Science and Technology Center. It bought the complex for $27 million and planned to spend as much as $95 million on the relocation, which included extensive renovations. However, in July 2010 OSI was acquired in a $4-billion takeover by Astellas Pharma Inc. of Japan and the relocation and capital improvements were quickly shelved.
The six-building campus was originally built for pharmaceutical giant Ciba-Geigy in 1956, which occupied it until 1995. Later, Purdue Pharma bought the property in phases before it vacated the complex in 2005.
Bill Kane, senior director of leasing and acquisitions for BioMed Realty, said the only other tenant is ICL Supresta Inc., which occupies some 24,000 square feet.
Kane said the acquisition closed on June 24.
While acknowledging the property was bought at a $9 million discount from what OSI Pharmaceuticals paid, Kane said the deal was prompted by the burgeoning biotech cluster in Westchester and particularly at its Landmark at Eastview property.
“There are opportunities all over to buy distressed assets,” Kane said. “I wouldn”™t call this about price, but about further investing in this county and accommodating the needs of companies like Acorda.”
Alan D. Gold, BioMed”™s chairman and CEO, said of the deal with Acorda, “We are very excited about Ardsley Park, our newest investment and expansion in the proven New York life-science cluster. As is the case at our Landmark campus, Ardsley Park provides favorable leasing economics for biotechnology companies to conduct their mission-critical research, as well as the potential for future growth on site.
“We are really excited about adding Acorda Therapeutics to our best-in-class tenant roster and look forward to supporting their research and development efforts to develop important therapies for individuals suffering from nervous system disorders.”
Dr. Ron Cohen, Acorda”™s president and CEO, said the space will accommodate the company”™s growth.
“Acorda has been based in Westchester County since 1998, where we are proud to have contributed to building a vibrant biotechnology community in New York,” Cohen added. “We are pleased that New York state, county and local government and economic development groups collaborated with us and BioMed to provide a cost-efficient solution that allows Acorda to remain based in Westchester County.”
In fact, Acorda began with just six employees in 1998, according to its CFO David Lawrence, who spoke at a June 27 press conference announcing the relocation. Acorda now has more than 300 workers. Lawrence said that prior to selecting the Ardsley site, the company conducted a search in the tristate region, and considered some biotech hubs in North Carolina and South Carolina.
He added that while Acorda had discussed some terms with the states of Connecticut and New Jersey, the economics of the lease with BioMed and the property”™s location were critical factors in selecting the site.
”˜Going after it with everything that we have”™
Acorda will receive state and county incentives as part of its move. The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency and the town of Greenburgh have terminated their respective PILOT agreements with OSI and struck new deals with Acorda.
Acorda is eligible for up to $1.1 million in sales-tax abatements through IDA, some of which could be used by BioMed Realty in relation to fit-out work. Acorda is also eligible for up to $5.2 million in tax credits as part of the state”™s Excelsior Jobs Program through Empire State Development Corp. It will also receive some incentives from the New York State Energy and Research Authority.
Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino said the retention of Acorda and the expansion of BioMed Realty”™s operations strengthen the county”™s emerging biotech cluster.
“What we have found is that biotech is a hot sector and so we are going after it with everything that we have,” Astorino said. “We are really creating what we think is a very exciting and nationally known corridor along Route 9A in Mount Pleasant and Greenburgh.”
Laurence Gottlieb, director of Westchester”™s economic development office, was attending a Biotechnology Industry Organization conference in Washington, D.C., the day of the Acorda announcement.
In a prepared statement, he said the county was involved in trying to bring new business to the Ardsley property as soon as it came on the market last year.
“This incredible one-two punch delivered by BioMed Realty and Acorda Therapeutics solidifies Westchester County”™s leadership position as both ”˜New York”™s Intellectual Capital”™ and the epicenter of biotechnology”™s explosive growth in the lower Hudson Valley,” Gottlieb said. “Westchester County”™s 9A corridor is emerging as one of the hottest biotech addresses in the nation.”
