Home : Blogs : Todd Waller | Ann Arbor Real Estate | Team366 : Ann Arbor Real Estate - News, Views & Stats

When Pfizer Leaves Town

In case you missed the announcement, the pain for SE Michigan and SW Michigan, continues with Pfizer closing its facilities in Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo.

2,100 jobs gone by the end of 2008. Not only are those 2,100 jobs lost for the Ann Arbor area, that's the City of Ann Arbor's largest single taxpayer, largest single private employer, and, likely, the city's largest charitable contributer.

wow

So, 2,100 Pfizer jobs: Gone. With the jobs multiplier for the Ann Arbor area somewhere North of 2.5, we are talking of at least 5,250 jobs gone.

With 70% of the 2,100 employees being relocated, that means nearly 1,500 residences could hit the market in the next 18 months. Did I mention that our listings were up nearly 8.5% for 2006 compared to 2005? 1,500 new listings in the Ann Arbor area means a nearly 10% increase in listings as there were 14,720 condo and residential listings in Washtenaw County.

Will the last person to leave Michigan please turn the light off?

Is it too early for that phrase to be pulled off the heap?

Posted by Todd Waller | Ann Arbor Real Estate | Team366 on 01/22/2007 04:47 PM

Comments (14)

michigan real estate, ann arbor, pfizer, economy

This post has been included in Michigan Information Washtenaw County, MI Information Ann Arbor, MI Information

14 Comments on When Pfizer Leaves Town

JAN

2007

When one door closes another one opens up. I remember Seattle and Phoenix when you could buy property at $.50 on the dollar. They are still there and doing quite well. On a smaller scale the city of Dekalb in Kane County, Illinois lost a major headquarters (also the location of Northern Illinois University) and their campus was converted into a business park.

Don't look at this as doom and gloom, put your thinking cap on and get involved. You may come out smelling like a rose, or your participation will generate a lot of business.

Todd, I had missed that news. Sad indeed. I went to school in Kalamazoo, and Upjohn was such a huge player in every day life if you lived there. It became Pfizer. This will be hard on the state.

PS. Thank you for posting ot Michigan Real Estate. You have a gold star there.

David,

Thank you for the kick in the shorts! I usually allow myself a little bit of time to vent frustration, and as you can tell, I banged out this post in the midst of my "ohmigoshwhattheheck" moment today.

There will be business that results from this closing, no question. The impact on Paradise will be something to contemplate for a while. Something will come of this, of that I am sure. Here's to the Googleplex becoming a reality!

So...Anyone want to purchase 2 million s.f. of medical research lab and office space around a world-renowned research school? I know this property that will hit the market soon......

/next, someone will tell me the American Idol judges are cruel..... Wait. What?

Maureen,

Thanks for your kind words and continued support. Blogging down because business is humming! That's a good thing in my book.

Todd, we moved from Michigan one year ago, thank you for the news its always nice to know what is happening back home. We do keep track of what is happening in our industry and compare notes, keeping you in mind! Sincerely, Bob and Cyndi

JAN

2007

Todd,

I read that news release yesterday and wondered if any of the Michigan closings were of former Parke-Davis operations. I was a 20+ year employee of Warner Lambert (now part of Pfizer) and am a retiree. I remember when P-D was acquired by Warner Lambert in 1972 or so and have fond memories of many of the P-D field sales people I knew in the Central Pennsylvania market.

Are the jobs being relocated, or phased out? If it's relocation, that presents some big opportunities for active, well-networked agents. Be proactive, and you can help soften the blow for some of the affected families. Good luck!

John,

70% are being relocated, so yes, there is definitely a silver lining here. The RE side of this story, as daunting as it appears, is not what has me shocked. You are correct that there is now a great opportunity to assist folks in a likely traumatic time in their lives. Black-tie service is my specialty....

I want to know how losing the city of Ann Arbor's single biggest taxpayer is going to affect the community. Yes, I know they will continue to pay taxes until the property is sold, but if the U of Michigan snags it for research, that's 2 Million sf of building, never mind property, off the tax rolls!

FEB

2007

"Will the last person to leave Michigan please turn the light off?"

Todd, that is a sad but profound statement. It just seems to be getting worse as the days go by. But you hit the nail on the head with that comment

APR

2007

Come on...you are calling the U of M a" world-renowned research school". It is probably a 2nd-tier university at best. One cannot speak of U of M and of the truly great schools such as Harvard, Stanford, and MIT in the same sentence.

JUN

2007

Bingo .Will the last person to leave Michigan please turn the light off?"

In our office it was taboo to talk about negative Michigan news but reality hits and homes are not moving.

I laugh at the HGTV shows when they have an open house and EXPECT and often DO sell the home that day.

That's truely fantasy land entertainment. Try doing 50 open houses and no one comes or buys.

Todd, This is my second "downsizing" of an areas economy. New companies will quickly take over usable buildings.

Leave a response…

Name:

Email:
(optional)

Comment:

What does the graphic say?