Pfizer’s site in La Jolla, Calif., is part of Pfizer Global Research and Development.

Pfizer has pledged $10 million a year over the next five years to incubate biotech startups at its 26,600-sq.-ft. facility in San Diego, getting a share of equity and a rights option in return. The program is similar to incubators managed by university intellectual property and licensing offices, only in corporate form. The project is helped in large part by what Catherine Mackey, a senior vice president of Pfizer Global Research & Development, recently told a newspaper was an ecosystem that supported such projects. Part of that ecosystem is Pfizer’s own 1,000-employee La Jolla campus, as well as the nearby campus of the University of California-San Diego, which Pfizer says "is among the premier universities in the United States for producing highly-qualified technical and scientific graduates for advanced research work." Sean Nugent, executive director with Pfizer Global R&D, is an IAMC member.

Merck’s site in Mirabel, France, was first launched in 1961.

In other news from IAMC’s cluster of pharma companies, Merck & Co. said in mid-May it will invest more than $114 to expand antibiotic production at its plant in Mirabel, Puy-de-Dome, France, in that country’s Auvergne region. The investment follows the company’s incremental investment of more than $701 million at the complex over the past decade. The company followed that project with the June 5 announcement that it would invest $193 million in a 75-job expansion at its Stonewall facility in Elkton, Va., the same city that has seen a brewery expansion from IAMC member firm Coors. The project comes on the heels of a $57-million expansion announced in December. The company’s Elkton facility employs more than 700 people with a $60 million annual payroll. The facility was first opened in 1941, and is one of seven Merck manufacturing plants in the continental United States. IAMC member organization the Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Rockingham County and Shenandoah Valley Partnership to secure the project, which qualifies for a $1.5-million performance-based grant from the Virginia Investment Partnership program. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide training assistance through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program. Joe Milano, senior real estate associate with Merck, is an IAMC member.

Yet another pharma member firm, Novartis , in April announced the $5.5-billion divestiture of its Gerber baby food business to Nestle, parent firm of IAMC member Nestle Waters North America. Founded in 1928 and a Novartis company since 1994, Gerber is active in approximately 50 countries, has about 4,500 associates and is based in Parsippany, N.J. Ron Grossmann, senior real estate specialist for Novartis, is an IAMC member, as is Lisa Speltz, director of real estate services for Nestle Waters North America.

In 1999 the Eisenhower Corporate Campus earned a Toby Award from BOMA as the Best Managed Building Complex in the 250,000 to 499,000 square foot category.

IAMC member firm Garibaldi/CORFAC International of Chatham, N.J., is leading the marketing effort for the 385,000-sq.-ft. Eisenhower Corporate Campus in Livingston, N.J., to be vacated by Prudential Insurance Company of America in December 2007. "The office market in northern New Jersey is very strong, and with the limited amount of 350,000 to 400,000-square-foot, Class A opportunities available in the region, we expect Eisenhower Corporate Campus to be a desirable destination for any company looking for large blocks of space," said Garibaldi President and IAMC member Jeffrey J. Garibaldi in an April press release. While a single end user is sought, the layout of the complex allows for the possibility of multiple tenants on its 33.5 acres.

Bob Jensen

In mid-May, member organization the Wyoming Business Council named its former COO Bob Jensen as its new CEO, replacing the retiring Tucker Fagan. "Not only is he a successful businessman, but he's a leader with vision who thinks outside the box," said Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal. Bob has an excellent work ethic, and is in tune with my desire to diversify Wyoming's economy and help our cities and counties create the infrastructure they need to attract businesses." "Through every step of our process, Bob Jensen stood out as the right candidate for the job," said Karla Fiebelkorn, co-chair of the board. "His demonstrated leadership skills, combined with more than 30 years of business experience, will guide the Business Council in strengthening and diversifying the state's economy." Jensen will start as CEO on June 15, 2007 with a salary of $134,110.

EastPointe Business Park, northeast of Zanesville, Ohio, will welcome a new Avon distribution center. The park comprises 900 acres, was designated a "Job Ready" site by the state in January, and in February welcomed a new injection molding operation from Bilco.

IAMC member firm Avon Products, Inc. announced on June 1 it would construct a $117-million, 500-employee distribution center on land located at Eastpointe Business Park in Zanesville, Ohio, approximately 50 miles east of Columbus. Following the company’s January announcement that it would restructure its distribution network, the new project comes as operations in Glenview, Ill., and Newark, Del., are phased out by 2009 and 2010, respectively. The new center will have the capacity to ship 50 percent of Avon's U.S. sales volume when fully operational.

"We conducted an extensive search for the location of Avon's new, state- of-the-art distribution center and determined Zanesville, Ohio is the best choice," said Elizabeth A. Smith, executive vice president, Avon Products, Inc., and president, Avon North America & Global Marketing. "The central location with proximity to major highways and many of our suppliers will allow us to most effectively service our Representatives in a timely, efficient manner. We are grateful to the State of Ohio, local Zanesville officials and the Zanesville-Muskingum County Port Authority for their support in our site selection process, and look forward to becoming a great neighbor."

The 1,200-acre park is owned by Zanesville-Muskingum Port Authority. The rail-served development is marketed for manufacturing and distribution. Other Eastpointe tenants are Dollar General, Wendy's, which has a bakery in the park, and Bilco Co., which just opened a 77,000-sf distribution center earlier in the spring. The park is a state designated "job-ready site," which garnered $4 million from the state to help with infrastructure costs.

Louise Matthews, vice president of global real estate for Avon Products Inc., is an IAMC member.

This 82,524sq.-ft. building marks Liberty’s sixth and final Class A office building to open in Independence Corporate Park in Greenville, S.C.

In May, member firm Liberty Property Trust celebrated the opening of two of the nation’s first speculative warehouses to seek LEED Core and Shell certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. One of them is a 341,000-sq.-ft. facility at the Bull Ridge Industrial Park in Greensboro, N.C. The other is at Independence Corporate Park in Greenville, S.C., at the interchange of I-85 and I-385. That building marks the second LEED building to open in the park — Liberty’s first LEED building there, One Independence Pointe, was the first LEED certified project in South Carolina. Christina Taylor, director of new business development for Liberty Property Trust, is an IAMC member.

Even as other metals companies in Russia make new plays, Alcoa announced in April plans to double its own investment in production there to $500 million, in part to serve growing aerospace and construction markets. The investment will continue the modernization of facilities in the Rostov and Samara regions, chronicled in this exclusive Site Selection profile and interview with Alcoa Russia President William O’Rourke in July 2005. Jim Winter is manager of corporate real estate for Alcoa and a member of IAMC’s board of directors.

David Montross, CEO, UGL Equis

Member firm Equis Corp., nearly a year after being acquired by Australia-based United Group Limited, announced in early June it would be changing its name to UGL Equis Corporation. "We’ve expanded our global footprint and our suite of corporate real estate services, including business process outsourcing," said David Montross, chief executive officer of UGL Equis. "Our clients can now source a totally integrated property services solution throughout the United States, Mexico, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, and an entity that offers seamless end-to-end real estate services." The company said its "ability to provide non-competing, global, single-source corporate real estate services was a significant factor in the firm being awarded three contracts to provide national and global real estate services for AGFA, Raymond James Financial and The Clorox Company." IAMC member Pat McKee is a vice president with UGL Equis, which recently won a $9.5-million contract from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to support facility leasing needs related to the 2010 Census. "As the workplace solutions provider for the federal civilian government, we forged a strategic partnership early in the process to meet the Census Bureau’s office needs — providing high-quality workplaces at a good value for the taxpayer," said David L. Winstead, Commissioner of GSA’s Public Buildings Service, who was interviewed by Site Selection for its November 2006 issue.

Another Chicago-based IAMC Service Provider, First Industrial Realty Trust, announced in early June that it has acquired a 537-acre land site with vested and fully entitled development rights to construct more than 6.2 million sq. ft. of master-planned industrial product in a business park located off the Beeline Highway in Palm Beach County, Fla. The land acquisition and development investments are being completed through First Industrial's Strategic Land and Development Joint Venture, FirstCal 3, with the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS). It is the largest land acquisition in First Industrial’s history, said the company, and "reflects the company's strategy to invest in markets with growing populations and increasing supply chain needs from rising international trade. The South Florida market is attractive for industrial development due to its growing economy, increasing port activity, high occupancy rates, and excellent distribution work force." Once some infrastructure work is completed, the company expects to begin construction during the second half of 2007. The Park is served by rail and will provide customers efficient access to air and sea ports, Interstate 95, and the Florida Turnpike, where a turnpike interchange for the Beeline Highway was recently completed. Garry Weiss, senior vice president of First Industrial, is an IAMC member.