Pfizer Inc. Stuns Officials, Will Demolish Building 118

Pfizer Inc.'s decision Wednesday to tear down the company's sprawling former research headquarters off Eastern Point Road stunned local and state officials who had invested thousands of hours trying to reuse the space to spur economic development in the region. Officials involved in the negotiations said last-minute obstacles thrown up by Pfizer after a major developer had offered to purchase the 750,000-square-foot complex known as Building 118 made it appear as though the pharmaceutical giant never had been serious about finding a buyer. Even an 11th-hour call from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to Pfizer President and Chief Executive Ian Read failed to dissuade the company from nixing a deal, according to two legislators.