Pfizer Inc. will close its logistics center in South Meadows by the end of this year, a move that will affect 19 workers.
The company hopes to sell its 264,000-square-foot distribution center at 1025 Sandhill Road.
"As part of a global restructuring of our logistics operations, Pfizer determined that there was a lot of unneeded capacity at our Reno facility," said Rick Chambers, director of worldwide communications for the pharmaceutical company. "This was due mostly to the sale of our consumer health-care business to Johnson & Johnson in 2008."
The work previously handled by the Reno center will be moved to a Pfizer operation in Memphis, and eight of the Reno center's 19 employees will be transferred.
Chambers said the company is offering job-search services, counseling and severance pay to the other 11 employees.
Pfizer will continue to operate a Reno facility that handles regional distribution of animal health-care products. Thirteen people
work there.
Originally built in 1999, the South Meadows facility was expanded by 100,000 square feet in 2005 to become the hub of West Coast distribution for Pfizer.
NAI Alliance won the listing contract to sell or lease the building. The distribution center and 22.6 acres of land are listed at $27.6 million. Alternatively, Pfizer might sell the building and 12.8 acres for $22.5 million and sell about 9.6 acres of excess land separately for $5.1 million.
If the building isn't sold, it's listed for lease at 55 cents a square foot per month.
While that's more expensive than most of the big distribution centers available on the market, the Pfizer facility includes specialized space such as 7,200 square feet of refrigerated storage and nearly 13,000 square feet of space configured for storage of hazardous materials.
