Pharmacia Wants to Double the Size of its HQ Campus

PEAPACK, NJ-When London-based Pharmacia bought Upjohn a few years back, it promptly began scouting for a site in the world’s pharmaceutical capital–New Jersey–to relocate its world headquarters. The vacant 550,000-sf former headquarters of Beneficial Finance in this semi-rural community of only 2,300 was the perfect fit.

Now, however, it’s not enough. Company officials are looking to more than double the size of the 10-building campus, and recently floated a trial balloon before the community’s zoning and planning board on the project. Under current zoning, Pharmacia can build another 430,000 sf of space, but company officials are looking at as much as 650,000 sf.

Another option–leasing additional space nearby–is currently unworkable. As company spokesman Paul Fitzhenry recently told local reporters, “We’ve already leased all of the available space in the immediate vicinity.”