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Hudson Valley iCampus:

A Thriving Hub for Innovation, Ingenuity and Industry in the Growing Life Sciences, Biomed Sectors

Nestled on a sprawling 207-acre campus in Pearl River, New York, Hudson Valley iCampus stands as a major research and innovation hub for the tri-state region. The two million-square-foot, mixed-use, multitenanted campus embodies an entrepreneurial spirit and visionary leadership that has created a community conducive to breakthrough scientific advancements and cutting-edge research and development (R&D), according to its developers.

With its prime location in the heart of the Hudson Valley and just 24 miles north of Manhattan, the campus o ers easy access to train stations, the Mario M. Cuomo/Tappan Zee Bridge and New York State Thruway, making it convenient for both residents and commuters.

The property o ers a unique blend of scenic beauty, tranquility and connectivity, allowing tenants to tap into a vast array of dining, shopping and entertainment options while also providing a serene and focused environment for research, development and other essential operations.

With features such as state-of-the-art research and development labs, advanced building infrastructure, an on-site 23-megawatt central utility plant, supportive amenities, on-site management and highly capitalized ownership, the campus has become home to forward-thinking life sciences and biomed companies, as well as manufacturing, cold storage and warehouse tenants.

“The campus is quickly becoming recognized as a place where innovation, ingenuity and industry thrive and as a result, one of the premier addresses for life sciences and biomed companies in the New York tri-state region,” said Jamie Schwartz, president of Hudson Valley iCampus.“

A History of Innovation

In fact, Hudson Valley iCampus is continuing the property’s tradition of historic scientific breakthroughs, which began more than a century ago when in 1907, Dr. Ernst Lederle purchased 99 acres in Pearl

River to expand production of an antitoxin to treat diphtheria.

Over the years, the property has changed ownership — from Lederle to American Cyanamid, then to the Wyeth pharmaceutical company, which was acquired by Pfizer Inc. in 2009. The property has expanded in size since its inception as its research community produced more critical discoveries, including vaccines for smallpox, typhoid and polio.

In 2015, Industrial Realty Group LLC (IRG), nationally recognized as a force behind the adaptive reuse of commercial and industrial real estate solving some of America’s most di cult real estate, purchased 207 acres of the property from Pfizer, containing approximately two million square feet of leasable space in 20 buildings. (Pfizer retained ownership of approximately 23 contiguous acres).

Six years after the acquisition, IRG, which owns more than 100 million square feet in 31 states, brought on board seasoned real estate executive Jamie Schwartz to lead the campus. As president, Schwartz has built a new on-site management team, rebranded the property as Hudson Valley iCampus and reintroduced the campus to the brokerage community, local government ocials, business leaders and the market.

As a result of his and his team’s e orts, the property went from approximately 25% leased to almost 50% in less than two years and is attracting some of the top life sciences and biomed companies in the world. Its tenant roster includes such worldwide industry leaders as Pfizer Inc., Sanofi US Inc., RK Pharma Inc., Momentive Performance Materials Inc., Olaplex Inc. and Strides Pharma Inc.

(See sidebar.)

“There has never been a better time to support this thriving sector in which we plan to play an integral role in since we have the product type to accommodate the growing demand for these industries,” Schwartz said. “For us, this is very exciting.”

An Advanced Infrastructure System

At the foundation of

Hudson Valley iCampus lies its infrastructure, which is designed to fuel innovation and growth. The building infrastructure supports R&D, manufacturing, cold storage and more, which provides companies, particularly smaller operations, with e cient and cost-e ective access to advanced resources.

“Having this type of infrastructure in place reduces the time required for companies to commence operations,” said Schwartz. “It can be cost-prohibitive, especially for smaller companies, to build space from scratch or to convert existing o ce buildings into lab facilities and associated space.”

Another unique feature of Hudson Valley iCampus is its on-site 23-megawatt power plant that delivers cost-e ective, environmentally conscious, energy-e cient and redundant electricity, steam and chilled water to its tenants, he continued. This is critically important for R&D operations, which rely on uninterrupted service.

“We provide N-1 and in some cases N-2 redundancy to our tenants,”

Schwartz added, referring to the minimum power modules required to meet the load requirement for a system to operate.

New Opportunities

The entire region is seeing growth, as well. Pfizer Vaccines R&D division is planning a $470 million expansion of its facilities and is planning to build 260,000 square feet of space that will include 55,000 square feet of new labs on its

23-acre parcel that is contiguous to Hudson Valley iCampus.

“Pfizer’s commitment to investing close to a half a billion dollars to expand on its parcel is a huge endorsement of the

Pearl River area, the local labor pool and the good business relationship we have forged together since Hudson Valley iCampus will continue to provide shared services to Pfizer for their parcel and buildings.”

Meeting

A Glimpse of Some of the Tenants at Hudson Valley iCampus Pfizer Inc., an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation. Pfizer leases more than 235,000 square feet of o ce, warehouse and lab space in multiple buildings at Hudson Valley iCampus for both its vaccine R&D and antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) divisions.

Sanofi US, a global healthcare company that provides potentially life-changing treatment options and lifesaving vaccine protection to millions of people globally. Sanofi US leases 76,051 rentable square feet in buildings 210 and 211.

Momentive Performance Materials Inc., a global high-performance silicone and specialties company, has leased 67,000 square feet to open a Global Innovation Center in building 180 to support its growing Performance Additives business. Momentive is relocating from o ces in Tarrytown, New York.

Strides Pharma Inc., an India-based company that trades publicly on that country’s stock exchange. It specializes in soft-gel capsules, oral solids, modified releases, topicals and liquids.

Strides recently signed a lease for 57,197 square feet of high-bay warehouse space for chemical storage in buildings 170 and 170B.

Urban Electric Power Inc., a company that says it is revolutionizing the traditional alkaline battery (for example, double A) by transforming it into a powerful, rechargeable battery. Urban Electric has renewed its lease for 36,048 square feet of manufacturing space in building 155.

Auro Vaccines LLC, a clinical-stage vaccine development company pioneering a major evolutionary step in the design and development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines for infectious diseases. Auro Vaccines renewed its 17,500 square feet of lab space in building 205. Olaplex Inc., a scienceenabled, technology -driven beauty company. Olaplex recently renewed and expanded into 5,797 square feet of lab and o ce space in building 205.

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