From medication to meditation, Pfizer’s new West Side Manhattan headquarters is a ritzy real-estate ode to its workers.
For more than sixty years, Pfizer has operated out of a revamped revolutionary-era building near Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal and the U.N. And now, Pfizer is pulling back the curtain on its new home base at The Spiral in New York City’s Hudson Yards. Pfizer first telegraphed the move almost five years ago to the day and began welcoming roughly 2,500 staffers to the swanky new digs last December.
Located on 34th street between 10th Avenue and Hudson Boulevard East, Pfizer’s new headquarters occupies 11 floors of The Spiral, spanning 800,000 square feet, according to the press release.
Pfizer first built a presence in New York City in 1849, when Charles Pfizer & Company was founded in a red brick building in Brooklyn. The company occupied another headquarters before opening the New World office in 1961. But now is "the right time for a move to a more modern space that reflects the innovative and science-driven culture of the company today.”
As part of a modern-era hybrid workspace set-up, Pfizer adopted unassigned seating for employees in the office. And it has put in place co-working seats and built open collaboration spaces that can be tailored to different needs.
In addition to the usual workspace, Pfizer’s modern office also includes seven rooms for relaxation, including four for entertainment and gaming, as well as coffee bars, cafes, a two-story fitness center, a wellness studio and mothers’ rooms.
The HQ also includes nearly 9,000 square feet of terrace space, a living green wall in the lobby and indoor planters.
Pfizer’s move into the new headquarters “marks the beginning of an exciting and important chapter for Pfizer,” CEO Albert Bourla said in the press release. It comes as the long-time New York resident has expanded its business exponentially thanks to COVID-19 products.
Pfizer has been using the COVID windfall to grow in other areas through mergers and acquisitions. These include the $5.4 billion purchase of rare blood disorder drug developer Global Blood Therapeutics and the $11.6 billion buyout of Biohaven for its migraine portfolio. And Pfizer is beefing up in oncology, shelling out $43 billion to take over antibody-drug conjugate specialist Seagen.