With the acquisition of 3 Skyline Dr., Mack-Cali boosts its holdings to 14 buildings and more than one million sf at the Mid-Westchester Executive Park complex.

Cushman's Lambros and Andrew Merin, executive vice president of the firm's Metropolitan Area Financial Services Group, note that the property garnered exceptional investor interest. Merin adds that the sale, "validates the fact that there is a strong appetite to acquire suburban office buildings for the long term in spite of current softness in leasing demand."

Barrie Levitt, M.D., chairman of Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., parent company of Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A. Inc., says the 3 Skyline Dr. space will house the firm's US research operations. The company's corporate headquarters is now housed in approximately 98,000 sf of leased space at 5 Skyline Dr., which is also owned by Mack-Cali.

"Taro has a long-standing commitment to R&D, with research operations in both Israel and Canada," Levitt notes. "This new center enables us to tap into the large pool of pharmaceutical research talent in the tri-state area."

The pending sale of the property was revealed on July 16 when the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency approved an incentive package of a little more than $1 million to Taro Pharmaceuticals and partner Mack-Cali to purchase 3 Skyline Dr. and help fund the necessary improvements for the Taro research space there. According to papers filed by Taro with the Westchester County IDA, the firm will have the option to purchase additional space at 3 Skyline Dr. at various times and could seek to acquire all the remaining space at the property from Mack-Cali by January 2005. Taro's lease at 5 Skyline Dr. expires in 2007.

Taro Pharmaceuticals, which employs more than 900 workers worldwide and 174 in Hawthorne, began operations in Westchester County in 5,000 sf of space at Six Skyline Dr. in 1990.