News

Jan 31, 2024

Owner of former Easton area Pfizer

Grass and weeds have risen on the border of Wilson and Easton at the former site

Grass and weeds have risen on the border of Wilson and Easton at the former site of the Pfizer Pigments plant, where buildings were torn down several years ago.

So too, a bright red "For Lease" sign has sprung up by an entrance to the 100-acre former manufacturing facility near Wood and Hackett avenues.

But what is to become of the former site — noted for its production of rust-colored pigments, which left red residue in the nearby neighborhood as well as air and water pollution over decades of operation — no one has spoken publicly about it.

Plans have been on hold for about two years, since the last developer proposed a warehouse with hundreds of jobs. But the concept of a 1 million-square-foot building dubbed Easton Commerce Park appears on at least one real estate website

Nearly two-thirds of the land is in Wilson, and borough officials and solicitor Stanley J. Margle III said Thursday they have not heard anything. Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said the city has not been contacted, as far as he knew.

The lease sign lists developer Scannell Properties and Cushman & Wakefield as contacts. Representatives from both companies did not return messages seeking comment.

Rick Kintzel/The Morning Call

Demolition is shown at the former Pfizer plant. For decades, the property was known as Pfizer Corp. and later Harcross Pigments. It was most recently home to Venator Materials, a corporate spin off of Texas giant Huntsman Corp.

Rick Kintzel/The Morning Call

Demolition work is shown at the old Pfizer pigment plant in 2020.

Rich Hundley III/Special to The Morning Call

Pfizer plant demolition located along Wood Avenue at the Easton-Wilson border.

Rich Hundley III/Special to The Morning Call

The former Pfizer plant demolition is shown along Wood Avenue at the Easton-Wilson border.

A For Lease sign has been placed at an entrance to the former Pfizer Pigments plant along Wood Avenue near Hackett Avenue in Wilson. Plans are being renewed, it appears for a warehouse on the site of the manufacturing facility, which was demolished in 2020.

Northampton County property records show the land, which is divided into 12 parcels in Wilson, Easton and Palmer Township, was sold in February 2021 to Abruzzi Trust from Abacus Industrial Holdings LLC for $100,000.

Abruzzi Trust documents list John Pacheco as trustee, while Abacus lists John Pacheco as manager. A telephone message left with both companies, which have Arizona addresses, was not returned. Abacus bought the approximately 105 acres from owners of the former Huntsman Pigments Plant, records show. Abacus contracted for the demolition of the giant industrial complex, which is off the 13th Street exit of Route 22.

The Pfizer industrial area and landscape underwent significant change since Abacus acquired the property in late 2019, including razing structures, some dating to the 19th century. The pigment plant operated from the late 1800s until 2017, perhaps most memorably as Pfizer from 1962 to 1990, first producing iron oxide, or a chemical compound composed of iron and oxygen.

Pfizer was succeeded by several corporations, including Harcros Pigments, which eventually became Elementis Pigments, and was last operating as a spinoff of Texas giant Hunstman Corp. when it closed in 2017. The Huntsman sign is still at an entrance along Wood Avenue.

Plans from the previous developer called for a mix of commercial, including distribution, and professional office space, with possible retail.

While a warehouse is now featured prominently in the online renderings, whoever does build and eventually lease the site will have to mow the vegetation in the summer. The high grass can be hazardous to motorists who navigate the Wood-Hackett avenue intersection.

Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone can be reached at [email protected].

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