The Planning Board will investigate the 19 properties owned by Merck to determine if they qualify for redevelopment as the pharmaceutical giant plans to move its global headquarters within the next three years.
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City Council passed a resolution (AR-122-20) at its May 11 regular meeting directing the Planning Board to investigate properties to determine if they qualify for redevelopment. All 19 lots designated in the resolution are owned by Merck, totaling almost 101 acres and scattered across five streets. Seven of the properties are classified as industrial, 10 as vacant, one as commercial, and another as residential. The company is the city’s largest taxpayer, with overall assessments of $193 million generating property taxes of about $13.2 million.
Merck will be doing new construction, according to City Administrator Robert Landolfi, as well as a lot of rehabilitation and some demolition but uses are expected to remain industrial, office or research. The recent announcement that Merck plans to make the Rahway property its global headquarters has “the potential to really change the shape and composition” of the property.
Landolfi expects the Planning Board to return a decision within 60 days. The board generally meets the fourth Tuesday of the month, with its next scheduled meetings on May 26 and June 23.
It’s something city officials discussed with the company going back to the beginning of the year in trying to establish a relationship with the pharmaceutical giant, Landolfi said. “They told us they were contemplating additional construction, extensive renovation and rehabilitation of buildings,” he said, but did not lead on about the recent announcement to move headquarters from a Kenilworth campus to Rahway within three years.
“Something they told us: those kind of tools and cooperation from a local municipality go a long way when they’re making those corporate-level decisions. We let them know pretty loud and clear they’re an important component to Rahway,” Landolfi said. “We didn’t know they’d designate us as global headquarters but we wanted to nurture that relationship and if we can help them with a competitive edge in any way, that’s something they should let us know,” he said.
Discussions with the company also have included other ideas, such as ways to encourage Merck employees to patronize downtown restaurants and businesses and the possibility of shared transportation and bikeways. “We kicked around some ideas with them and they were very receptive — as were we,” he said.
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