By Frank Mustac, Contributor
Representatives from Bristol Myers Squibb met with local, county and state officials discuss the pharmaceutical and health products company’s gradual move out of its Hopewell Township campuses., The company announced late last year its intention to fully vacate the sites by mid-2020., Hopewell Township Administrator Paul Pogorzelski described the meeting held a few weeks ago attended by himself, Mayor Kevin Kuchinski, Committeewoman Vanessa Sandom, representatives of Mercer County, and representatives of New Jersey Business Action Center as a way to “better understand [BMS’] planned departure.”, Bristol Meyers Squibb (BMS) has a primary facility on Pennington-Rocky Hill Road, which was formerly a Exxon/Mobil facility, and a facility on Carter Road, which had at one time been a Lexicon/ATT building., There are currently a combined 1,259 BMS employees at both sites, but many of the those jobs would be moving to central New Jersey sites and Massachusetts., BMS intends to put both campuses up for sale., “Our understanding is that they have not yet engaged a [real estate] broker. They intend to do so by March,” Pogorzelski said. “We also understand that they do not anticipate dramatic changes until sometime in 2019.”, The business administrator said the township asked that BMS provide at least one year of advance notice before any changes to the property could result in tax appeals., According to the township, BMS currently represents about 5.9 percent of Hopewell Township’s tax base., The mayor also talked about other “pertinent points” he took away from the meeting., “There is a general development plan that governs that (primary) site,” he said. “It was really a hard-fought sort of discussion in this community [to craft that plan], which puts limitations on the growth of that campus that I think are still applicable in large measure, including measures such as protecting the viewscapes and also ensuring that any development is governed within that loop road.”, Kuchinski said the plan generally permits “up to 2.8 million square feet of office and laboratory space.” The location currently features 1.2 million square feet of such space today., “We are working closely with representatives from the county in the economic development office and the planning office, as well as with the state,” Kuchinski said. “The state has proactively approached us and has offered through its Business Action Center to proactively work with a real estate broker that is hired by Bristol Myers Squibb to help fill that space in a way that is consistent with the general development plan.”, One issue that arose after speaking with the state, the mayor said, was the fact that the property may be “a challenge to market … to a single user.”, Kuchinski also announced that the Hopewell Township Committee will hold a work session on Feb. 27 to talk about the future of the BMS sites, including discussions on the potential for affordable housing., “It’s going to be an important challenge for us all moving forward, as well as for the school district and for Pennington and Hopewell boroughs. We’re all going to potentially be impacted by this,” he said.
