CORFAC News

February 2, 2009 - RICHMOND, VA – The former Wyeth Consumer Healthcare facility located at 1405-1407 Cummings Drive is slated to be sold following Wyeth’s announced plans to consolidate operations to its nearby Richmond, Virginia location. Porter Realty Company Inc./CORFAC International and The Garibaldi Group/CORFAC International today announced that the two firms had been selected as the exclusive listing agents.

The 272,000 square foot research and development facility is located on almost nine acres in a highly visible location fronting on a heavily traveled corridor of Interstate 95.  The site is a part of the area’s Enterprise Zone, which offers a variety of state and local business incentives. Robert E. Porter, Jr., CCIM, SIOR, President of Richmond-based Porter Realty Company Inc./CORFAC International along with Peter Blanchard, Principal, and Tom McCann, Senior Vice President, of The Garibaldi Group/CORFAC International, headquartered in New Jersey, were jointly appointed by Wyeth to handle the marketing of the property and the procurement of the purchaser.

Listed for sale at $30 per square foot, the property’s current industrial zoning allows for warehousing and manufacturing uses with the potential for mixed-use development of residential, retail and a variety of other ancillary applications.

“Rarely does an opportunity of this magnitude become available in Richmond, said Mr. Bob Porterof Porter Realty Company Inc./CORFAC International. “The property can appeal to a variety of uses and will give a savvy developer an opportunity to be creative with the use.”

“This site offers investors the prospect to acquire a pivotal property and large land parcel with an approved mixed use master plan category that has the potential to redefine Richmond,” said Mr. Tom McCann of The Garibaldi Group/CORFAC International.  “We expect this offering to attract multiple offers from regional and national investors.  Redevelopment of the site will be a welcome addition to the region.”

CORFAC covers over 150 markets worldwide through a network of independently-owned entrepreneurial firms in the U.S., Canada and Mexico and in association with U.K.-based King Sturge and Panama-based Latin America Corporate Property Services Inc.

Originally constructed in 1952 by A. H. Robins, with numerous renovations and additions since, the facility includes two ADA accessible entrances and two lobbies, a data center with generator in addition to a 210-seat auditorium and a modern cafeteria with kitchen in the second floor annex.  The building contains several laboratories, along with substantial warehousing and manufacturing space.  The site includes parking for 272 with an additional 32 overflow spaces, and is located on a private street with a fenced lot.  The warehouse opens to a loading area of twelve docks with bay openings and one ground-level ramp with ceilings heights ranging from 10’ to 18’ clear in the production area and 14’ clear in the manufacturing space.

“The seller is particularly interested in finding a purchaser that would be both a good partner and neighbor to the community,” addedBob Porter. “Wyeth had a long history in Richmond as a good corporate citizen and we hope that the new owner would also be a friend to the business community.” 

Additional details on the property are available online at www.cummingsdrive.com.

BACKGROUND

1405-1407 Cummings Drive is a landmark facility in the Richmond market, located proximate to the City’s historic Diamond area, located along The Boulevard/Route 6.  The Atlanta Braves’ AAA franchise played their last season at the Diamond in 2008, and the team’s departure has renewed discussions about options for renovating or relocating the stadium.  The Richmond Ballpark Initiative first introduced the concept of a new downtown stadium five years ago. 

The City is committed to bringing baseball back to Richmond, and is reviewing options for a dramatic redevelopment of the 65-acre Diamond area, which would include relocating the existing stadium to Downtown Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom.  The existing ballpark and adjacent land would be replaced by a town-center development, at an estimated cost of $422 million.  The plan proposes a $363 million development for the Shockoe Bottom project, including a new $60 million stadium.  Raleigh NC-based developer, Highwoods Properties, has been selected to oversee both developments.

Located 1.3 miles from the Cummings Drive Facility, south along the Boulevard corridor, Bow Tie Partners is in the process of renovating a 53,000 square foot locomotive plant into Movieland, a 17-theater entertainment complex that includes a neighboring 6,000 square foot restaurant and over 750 parking spaces.

The City has also completed several redevelopment initiatives in the past decade, including a $52 million restoration of the James River and Kanawha Canal that includes a downtown Canal Walk, designed to attract businesses.  The riverfront project has revitalized the Downtown area and continued in the 2005 development of Riverside on the James, a 720,000 SF residential and office complex costing an estimated $90 million.

About The Garibaldi Group/CORFAC International

The Garibaldi Group/CORFAC International is a full-service, global real estate firm now in its 90^th year of operation.  With offices in Chatham, New Jersey, as well as in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, the firm’s extensive services include real estate consulting and brokerage services, financial services, lease administration, project management/development and property/construction management.

The Garibaldi Group is a member of CORFAC International, an organization of leading, privately-held, entrepreneurial commercial real estate firms serving 150 major markets in North America, and internationally through its King Sturge CORFAC International alliance.  For more information, please contact The Garibaldi Group/CORFAC International at 973-635-0303 or visit www.garibaldi.com.

About Porter Realty Company Inc./CORFAC International

Founded in 1965 by the Robert E. Porter, Sr., Porter Realty Company Inc./CORFAC International has grown from a one-man business specializing in industrial sales and leasing to Richmond, Virginia’s leading industrial firm.  Family-owned and operated with more than a century of collective experience among its principals, Porter Realty offers a full range of brokerage services with a volume of more than 8 million square feet sold and leased in 2007 and 2008 combined. 

With the highest volume production per agent of any firm in Richmond, Porter Realty brokers were recipients of the area’s top commercial producer award for five out of six years.  Additional information is available at www.porterinc.com.

About CORFAC International

CORFAC International is one of the largest commercial real estate services organizations in the world and celebrates its 20^th year in 2009.  U.S.-based CORFAC is comprised of privately held entrepreneurial firms serving more than 150 markets in The Americas and internationally through alliances with UK-based King Sturge and Panama-based Latin American Corporate Property Services.

In recent years, CORFAC firms completed over 9,000 commercial real estate transactions annually, encompassing more than 300 million square feet and valued each year in excess of $30 billion.  For more information on CORFAC contact 954-923-6160, info@corfac.com or visit www.corfac.com