The plans for redevelopment of the 550-acre Pfizer Inc. campus in Pearl River may include Start-Up NY designated space, a hotel and an incubator.
The campus was bought by Industrial Realty Group LLC for $39.45 million last year. Shortly following the purchase, IRG announced intentions to turn the facility into a mixed-use shopping, meeting and educational destination.
Los Angeles-based IRG, one of the largest private holders of industrial and commercial real estate in the country, acquired 38 buildings and more than 2 million square feet of space in the deal, which closed in November.
In a meeting on the campus May 19 with the commercial realty arm of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, representatives from the property”™s leasing agent, Colliers International, and the Rockland Economic Development Corp. gave some details on IRG”™s plans for the site.
Included in those plans is a possible space set aside for state tax benefits. John Cunningham, executive managing director of Colliers, said the campus could include buildings pre-approved for Start-Up NY designation through Rockland Community College. That would mean a company moving in could qualify for the state program, which allows small businesses to operate for up to 10 years without paying state taxes, among other incentives.
RCC did not have a representative at the meeting, but Thomas Della Torre, associate vice president of academic and community partnerships for the school, confirmed to the Business Journal that the school was considering the space.
RCC can designate up to 200,000 square feet as Start-Up NY space within Rockland County. Della Torre said the school had applied to the state to designate about 40,000 square feet on the IRG campus. The designated space could feature a mix of uses, including office, lab and manufacturing.
Della Torre said SUNY Rockland, along with other groups, had reached out first to Pfizer, then to IRG following its purchase of the campus.
“We reached out to say ”˜What can we do so that this isn”™t abandoned and we can keep jobs in Rockland County?”™” Della Torre said. “This is thousands of jobs.”
The possibility of launching an incubator for small biotech startups was discussed at the meeting as well, though exact details are still being worked out. Reached by the Business Journal after the meeting, Cunningham confirmed conversations involving a biotech incubator were in process, but said it would be premature to announce any details.
“What”™s safe to say is that the campus is going to be a center of life science and biotech in New York and the tristate area without a doubt,” he said in a phone interview.
The Pearl River campus had between 3,000 and 4,000 employees at its peak 20 years ago, Cunningham said. It was formerly the research and manufacturing headquarters of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Pfizer bought Wyeth in 2009 for $68 billion and has downsized the Pearl River operation since.
“The idea is to bring that back up,” Cunningham said. “Right now, we”™ve got about 700 employees. So, in the next couple years, try to double that and double that again. And to do that we really need to have the ability to have those amenities on site.”
Cunningham was referring to amenities such as restaurants, a health and fitness center and a hotel. There are no specifics yet, as Cunningham said IRG is still in the process of planning the site. The campus is currently zoned for industrial and light industrial, so Cunningham said IRG would eventually have to request zoning changes.
While there will be plans for retail, Cunningham doesn”™t anticipate big box stores moving in.
“This is not going be The Shops at Nanuet,” he said. “We”™re not meant to compete with that, it doesn”™t make sense. I don”™t envision a Walmart going up … we”™ve had those calls, but it”™s not really the nature of this site.”
Pfizer will maintain a presence on the campus as well. The company has pledged that it won”™t go below 600 employees on the site, said Richard Struck, president and CEO of the Rockland Economic Development Corp. The pharmaceutical company retained two buildings of about 500,000 square feet in the deal and will lease back another 1.2 million square feet under short-term and long-term leases.
Pfizer will vacate a lot of that space this year, including a 950,000-square-foot building where the company produces its Prevnar vaccine. Pfizer will continue to produce its antibody cancer drugs on the campus, the Business Journal reported in December.
Asked about possible residential uses for the space, Cunningham said that option hasn”™t been ruled out.
“Could you see residential? I think so,” he said. “But that”™s a long way down the road. It”™s a long process to integrate a site like this into the community.”
In the meantime, Colliers is busy showing the site to potential tenants. Cunningham said he”™s had about a million square feet worth of proposals. There”™s a “few deals in the pipeline,” he said, but didn”™t disclose any specifics.
The first client for the property, Urban Electric Power, will lease about 36,000 square-feet. Cunningham said the company, a startup that produces zinc anode batteries for energy storage will move in soon.
Good luck, Ryan!