Pfizer campus buyer: Bring millennials to Pearl River IRG's president says bringing millennials to work at the campus will take some creative thinking.

PEARL RIVER - What will Pfizer's sprawling campus look like under its new owner?

The president and chairman of California-based Industrial Realty Group, which just bought 200 acres from the pharmaceutical giant, was in Pearl River on Tuesday to lay out the company's vision for the 2 million square feet and dozens of buildings it now owns.

IRG, one of the nation's largest privately held owners of commercial and industrial property, has repurposed former industrial sites, airports and military facilities. Interest in its Pearl River project has already come from local and regional companies, both established and startups, for such uses as research and development, office space, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing.

Pfizer will continue research and development and manufacturing at the site. Other businesses — Protein Sciences and Anellotech — will lease space from IRG.

At Tuesday's gathering in Building 100, a six-story R&D, manufacturing and office complex that's among IRG's new holdings, company President Stuart Lichter talked about the parcel's past and how he envisions its future.

Most of the campus is in the Nanuet school district and the town of Orangetown, which would stand to reap considerable benefits from any additional tax revenue generated there.

Top takeaways from Lichter's visit:

1. He knows the turf: Lichter grew up in the Bronx, started the company on Palmer Avenue in Larchmont more than 40 years ago when he was 24, and has family in New City.

2. Good vibrations: "The first thing we do in all these properties is assess the local area and whether we're welcome and how we're going to be greeted and whether the atmosphere is one where we can succeed."

3. Moving on: "This is a real historic facility, and a lot of wonderful things happened here. It's always a bittersweet thing when something moves on to its next life."

4. He's a realist: "Right now there's a glut of space like this, littered all over New Jersey, so we're not without significant competition ... there's a little better operating climate in some of the other places."

5. What's next for the 38 buildings IRG bought: In most cases they'll be kept for uses such as biotech, medical tech, manufacturing and office space, but some will need major repurposing.

6. Getting younger: Lichter envisions using vacant land facing Middletown Road to create a mix of residential, retail, office space, a medical facility and a hotel that would attract millennials to live and work at the campus. This, in turn, would attract businesses to locate there. He said companies perceive they can't hire good help unless they're in an urban environment. Lichter recognizes that zoning's a contentious issue in the suburbs and that people would have to buy into his vision to make it a reality.

​​"I understand that residential side is a touchy subject here but, if you want to have a young, vibrant community, at least for this period of time ... you need to, in effect, discard what your traditional zoning is — this is there, that's here, this is there — and you need to create something that is a little smooshed together because that's what's attractive now," he said. "And you see that happening all over the country.

"We're not talking about a major retailer — a couple of restaurants, coffee shops mixed in with some residential, maybe seniors, some office, a hotel, we're talking to a medical facility ... some kind of flexible zoning," he added.

Robert Brum is a columnist and editor of The Rockland Angle, a nightly email newsletter exclusively for Rockland County news, features and other essential information. To sign up for The Angle, visit lohud.com/newsletters , check the "Rockland Angle" box and submit your email address.

Twitter: @Bee_bob