a $500-million expansion

First up in the long-term project was the subject of yesterday's groundbreaking, a three-story, 244,000-sf R&D center that's being built at a cost of $200 million. Completion is slated for early 2007, according to Robinson. The facility will reach full occupancy in stages, he says.

"This state is critical to our success," Robinson said at the event. "Our expansion here reaffirms the strong partnerships we've established with governments, community organizations and our other stakeholders in the state."

Pfizer's larger plan for the site calls for tearing down a series of 40-year-old buildings deemed obsolete, adding upwards of 1.5 million sf of space and renovating another 700,000 sf. The master plan also calls for adding three parking decks with room for approximately 3,000 cars. The property is the former Warner-Lambert campus, which Pfizer inherited when it acquired that company five years ago.