Representatives of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. made a presentation to the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency this morning on an amended expans

WHITE PLAINS—Representatives of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. made a presentation to the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency this morning on an amended expansion plan for property in the Town of Greenburgh that will involve a total of nearly a half billion dollars of investment.

Janet Giris, a partner with the law firm DelBello, Donnellan & Weingarten, Wise & Wiederkeher, LLP who represented Regeneron at the IDA session, noted that the new project is an expansion of its Parcel D project originally proposed in 2015 as a building not to exceed 192,000 square feet that secured Westchester IDA approval, but never moved forward.

“Recently, Regeneron has been reevaluating its long-term space needs and determined that the originally approved Building D no longer meets its needs,” she said.

Giris said that Regeneron plans to submit an amended incentives application with the IDA for its new project that would involve the construction of a new two-story, 207,000-square-foot building, along with a parking structure and other infrastructure that will increase the development cost of the project (including equipment) by approximately $331 million to $480 million.

In its presentation, Regeneron estimates that construction costs will total $310 million, design costs $21.7 million and FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) $148.9 million. The cost of the original project was estimated at $150 million. The firm estimated the tax savings it will secure will net approximately $7.7 million.

The new building will primarily house Regeneron’s pre-clinical manufacturing and process development operations. She reported that Regeneron recently applied to the Town of Greenburgh for amended land use approval on the Parcel D building.

Alexandra Bowie, a company spokesperson, told Real Estate In-Depth that the original building plan called for 128,000 square feet of mixed lab/office space.

In addition to the expanded size of the building and six years of inflation, the reason for the significant additional cost of the amended development project is due to its usage change to all preclinical manufacturing and process development, which requires specialized space/equipment for producing drug product.

Bowie said of the company’s expansion, “We’re proud that the Regeneron team continues to grow, as our research and development efforts continue to deliver new medicines for patients in need. We appreciate the support of our local communities in accommodating this growth, and ultimately helping to further this important mission.”

According to a project timeline submitted to the IDA, Regeneron hopes to secure approvals from the Town of Greenburgh and necessary permits that would allow construction to begin sometime in the third or fourth quarter of this year with project completion slated for mid-2024.

“This is an exciting project that fits in line with the mission of the IDA and the mission of economic development here in the county,” said Westchester County IDA Chairman Joan McDonald.

The Westchester IDA was also given a cost benefit analysis presentation of the proposed Gateway II mixed-use project in Downtown White Plains. The project being proposed by the Alaska Permanent Fund and development partner Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC calls for the construction of 500 high-rise apartment units and 19,000 square feet of ground floor retail at the Gateway II site at 85 N. Lexington Ave. in Downtown White Plains, the current location of a long vacant 3.5-acre parking lot.

Michael Grella of Grella Partnership Strategies gave the cost benefit analysis presentation on the project that he said is valued at approximately $275 million.

He estimated the hoped-for incentives would involve approximately $640,000 in sales tax exemptions, $1.5 million in mortgage recording tax exemptions and approximately $23 million in savings to be negotiated with the City of White Plains in a Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement.

The IDA Board took no action on either project at its session. Both the Regeneron and Gateway II projects are expected to be on the IDA Board’s agenda for its next meeting on May 27.