Do go read the local account in Patch.com, on the Summit city council's thoughts, and deliberation -- about how to replace, or at least mitigate, the loss of $9 million per year in real estate taxes. Tough times indeed.
. . . .Summit Mayor Ellen Dickson and members of the city's Common Council met Wednesday with Merck officials following Tuesday's announcement that the pharmaceutical giant will close its Summit campus amid global restructuring. . . .
"We are doing all we can to make this a smooth transition," Dickson said. "They are only now beginning to fully assess the 88-acre property, and acknowledge that is truly is a wonderful campus. Merck is looking to find a similar buyer who may be able to immediately use it for like purposes."
The Summit site, where 1,800 Merck employees work, paid the city $9 million in taxes annually. The campus will remain open through 2014 and exit in 2015. . . .
As ever, we will keep you posted.
All so strange. S/P bought the old Ciba site and was planning on expanding into it as Kenilworth was getting too crowded.
ReplyDeleteThen after the Merck merger, Merck tries to subdivide the Kenilworth site and put corporate up in Summit. All the while expanding the K-15 bldg.
I think the real problem came about due to Kenilworth not allowing the subdivision of the property. I'm sure no one expected that. Though, I wonder if the co-generation plant and single environmental license that Kenilworth site has is also playing a role in all of this?
Well, at least Merck can reactivate Fast Freddie's prize bldg K-1 now, if they want.