Rendering showing a proposed new parking garage on the northwest corner of the Merck West Point complex in Upper Gwynedd, as presented to the township commissioners on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Image courtesy of Upper Gwynedd Township)
Company says nearly 630 new parking spaces will be added on site
Another new addition is on the way to Merck’s massive West Point complex.
Company officials made the case to the township on Monday night for a new 600-plus-space parking garage, to be built next to a current one.
“This garage sits just to the north of our existing garage 10. The original garage 10 is six stories and holds 1,500 cars: the new one is only four stories and will hold 500 cars,” said Merck spokesman Greg Landis.
Since the start of the 2020s Merck has sought and secured approvals for several new or upgraded buildings throughout their complex, including expanding the existing “Building 45” for labs and office space in October 2020, a new “Building 50” of roughly 101,000 square feet of manufacturing space in February 2021, a new “Building 32” for freezer space approved in May 2021, expansion of the proposed “Building 50” in August 2021, and a new “Building 63A” production facility approved in November 2021. In early 2024 Merck also secured approvals for a new “Building 41” to be located toward the center of the company’s 320-acre complex, and in 2025 secured approvals from the township to swap preservation of wetlands on the site for another parcel elsewhere in the region.
The latest plans show a new garage to be located on the northwest corner of the site near Broad Street and Sumneytown Pike. The new garage would be roughly 30 feet tall, compared to the 65 foot height of the current garage, and would be located roughly 300 feet back from Sumneytown and 700 from Broad atop already existing parking, Landis said.
“Total net of 628 additional parking spaces: 560 in the garage, and then 68 on the surface,” he said: “It’s vehicles only, no restrooms or occupants, and it’s very similar to our other three garages on the property.”
In talks with the township’s planning commission and environmental advisory commission, Merck has agreed to add 201 new trees at and around the new garage, all of which would be native tree varieties at the request of the township, he said.
“Four rain gardens surround the garage, two on either side, that feed into the main basin out there, so we have well-controlled stormwater,” Landis said.
All new lights on and around the garage would be aimed downward for internal lighting only, and the company has already begun the process of securing state environmental approvals, with a goal of starting construction “sometime this spring.” All necessary township departments and consultants have vetted the plans and submitted review letters, with traffic stacking the main concern, the spokesman said.
“We have plenty of queueing inside the plant, from South Broad Street and Sumneytown Pike, to make sure we’re not blocking traffic anywhere. We also have the additional entrance only from Sumneytown Pike, that kind of lines up for people coming into the garage, so we get them off the roads as fast as possible,” he said.
As he spoke, Landis showed a series of slides depicting the overhead of the Merck complex, the corner where the garage would be located, and a series of renderings showing what it would look like from above and from street level, as seen looking across Sumneytown Pike toward the site.
“When we add in all the trees, the curbing, and the road in the front, it really does take away the view of seeing anything in the site, compared to what you would see today,” Landis said.
“We’re sitting at about 8,100 parking spaces around the site, so we have more spaces than we have employees right now, which is a good thing. We’re not worried about having enough parking, it’s where everything is in alignment with where people work,” he said.
He then showed a list of waivers the company is seeking from the board, including combining preliminary and final land development approvals, allowing certain pipe sizes and setback dimensions, and on how to record the plans with the township and county, which Landis said are typical for Merck projects that fall under the sitewide master plan they have developed with the township.
The commissioners voted unanimously to grant the land development approvals with the requested waivers.
Upper Gwynedd’s commissioners next meet at 7 p.m. on Feb. 3 at the township administration building, 1 Parkside Place. For more information visit www.UpperGwynedd.org.
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