By Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
Bristol-Myers Squibb recently left Hopewell Township officials gobsmacked after announcing the gradual closure of its 433-acre research and development facility by 2020.
According to the international pharmaceutical company’s Dec. 13 announcement, the facility will be shuttered in an effort to “strengthen capabilities of the company’s R&D hubs” in New Jersey, California and Massachusetts.
“We are planning a phased close-out of the BMS Hopewell site, with a completion date of mid-2020,” spokesperson Lisa McCormick Lavery said.
Ms. Lavery said employees will continually vacate all of the buildings that make up the campus.
The Hopewell campus is made up of a number of buildings and we will be exiting the entire site and all buildings. Relocation has already taken place for some personnel, as renovation work required they move to a temporary site on Carter Road, which will also close by mid-2020.
Last month, the company announced the opening of a new 555,525 square foot office building at 3104 Princeton Pike in Lawrence. The building is valued at $13.1 million and sits on a more than 73 acre plot of land.
Though BMS has been working on this project and eventual relocation of its workforce for years, Township Business Administrator Paul Pogorzelski said the news came as a surprise.
“We had no clue,” he said. “The jaw hit the table and now we’re going to see what’s going to happen.”
According to Mr. Pogorzelski, the township collects approximately 5.9 percent of its annual tax revenue, about $6 million, from the pharmaceutical company’s facility.
Bristol-Myers Squibb, then just Bristol-Myers, originally purchased the campus from the gas company Mobil back in 1997.
Mr. Pogorzelski said BMS representatives said they intend to put the campus on the market, meaning the township would continue to collect tax revenues from the new tenant. Specific discussions about the location’s future, however, have not been held.
“What we understand is that they do intend to market the campus,” he said. “We have not had any discussions about this yet. I’m sure those discussions will be taking place in the near future…it’s all too new.”
In addition, local workers will have to relocate “over the next several years,” Ms. Lavery said.
“Specific to the announcements made this week, we expect many of the roles from Hopewell will transition to other U.S. locations,” she said.
One thing that will not change as a result of the relocation, Ms. Lavery said, was the company’s continued support of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail, of which BMS is a founding organization.
Earlier this year, Bristol-Myers Squibb provided a grant to the trail to help with the administration of the trail activities.
“The trail links our three campuses in Lawrence and Hopewell and we have constructed segments of the trail on all three of campuses,” she said. “Our support and involvement with the LHT will not end with the closure of the Hopewell campus.”
