The 504-acre Merck campus in Readington includes a signature hexagonal, 1 million-square-foot office building developed in 1990.
By Joshua Burd
After being on the market for several years, the sprawling Merck & Co. campus in Hunterdon County may soon have a new owner.
That’s according to multiple published reports, which say the pharmaceutical giant is in talks to sell the 504-acre campus and its 1 million-square-foot building in the Whitehouse Station section of Readington. The reports identified the would-be buyer as Unicom Global, a California-based IT conglomerate with some existing operations in the Garden State.
Outlets including myCentralJersey.com and TAPinto.net reported late last month that Unicom is under contract to purchase the well-known campus off Route 78, citing local officials who announced the deal at the final township committee meeting of the year.
The reports noted that the deal has yet to be finalized and that terms were not available. A representative for Unicom did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.
The campus on Oldwick Road has been on the market for several years, following Merck’s announcement in 2012 that it was moving its headquarters to Summit. The property has at times vexed real estate brokers who had struggled to find a buyer for a sprawling office complex in a more rural section of the state, resulting in only rumors and potential suitors that never resulted in a deal.
According to myCentralJersey.com, local officials were rejoicing at the prospect of the sale, especially given its potential to bring technology jobs and keep young people from leaving the county.
“Hunterdon County has a lot to offer,” Chris Phelan, president of the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce, told the website. “We have a very talented workforce.”
