SUFFERN, NY—Pharmaceutical firm Novartis, which announced in January of this year it would be shutting down its manufacturing and packaging complex here, has hired Cushman & Wakefield to market the property for sale.

The parameters of the marketing arrangement are different than when Novartis first announced the plant closure and suggested it might dismantle the 585,000-square-foot building complex and then put the 162-acre property on the market for sale. Instead, Cushman & Wakefield's Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group is looking to sell the pharmaceutical production facility and the property. C&W's Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut and Grace Braverman are handling the assignment.

Novartis announced in January that it would be shutting the Suffern plant down in phases beginning this year and lasting for another two to three years.

The Suffern Campus is considered one of the nation's top 10 pharmaceutical manufacturing and packaging plants by volume, capable of producing billions of caplets and capsules per year, C&W officials state. “For a pharmaceutical company, this offering would be very attractive because of all the equipment that is still in place and operating,” Merin says. “Currently, there are no operational facilities like this one available in the tri-state area. The cost to construct a similar campus would likely exceed $400 million.”

There is the potential to sell the facilities equipment separately making the site an attractive option for other investors or industrial users. Merin adds, “While we are currently formalizing our marketing process, we are already seeing significant interest in this offering, particularly from international pharmaceutical firms. Overseas groups from India and China that could benefit from a location in the U.S. are among those showing interest.”

The site consists of three interconnected buildings that include a 55,000-square-foot office building featuring a 7,000-square-foot cafeteria, conference and meeting rooms and analytical laboratories. Other buildings include a 425,000-square-foot production facility, a 74,000-square-foot receiving/warehouse building; a 55,000-square-foot office/lab/amenity building, an electrical substation and a 24,000-square-foot energy center with excess boiler capacity and redundant chillers. The existing buildings occupy approximately 50 acres of the 162-acre site, providing potential buyers with the potential to expand the campus or to introduce alternate uses, C&W states.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day says of the announced marketing deal, "Rockland County is excited to work closely with Cushman & Wakefield on securing the best occupant for the Novartis site. The sprawling campus offers many amenities in an ideal location for a new tenant to grow and expand in the Hudson Valley. My administration looks forward to partnering with the Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group and officials in Ramapo to make certain economic conditions are as favorable as possible."

Instant Insights /

Novartis Hires C&W to Market Suffern, NY Campus

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