Updated: Feb 28
By Barbara A. Preston for The Montgomery News | Posted Feb. 26, 2026
Johnson & Johnson on Feb. 18 announced a more than $1 billion investment in a new next generation cell therapy manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania that will provide 4,000 construction jobs and 500 skilled biomanufacturing jobs once it is fully operational. The site in Lower Gwynedd, Montgomery County, is 39 miles from 199 Grandview Road in Montgomery Township, where J&J built a manufacturing plant in the 1970s that included disposable diaper production.
Johnson & Johnson’s architectural sketch of a $1 billion advanced manufacturing facility that will use cutting‑edge cell therapy technologies to deliver the company’s next generation of transformational medicines. The facility to be built in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, will advance a pipeline of transformational medicines for cancer, immune mediated, and neurological diseases.
J&J's Montgomery Township, NJ, plant closed February 1981, when the company announced it would withdraw its disposable diapers from the U.S. market. After being used for other purposes, including for office space, for almost 50 years, the 300-plus-acre site briefly served J&J's spin-off company, Kenvue. When Kevue moved to Summit, in 2025, executives say they were unable to lure a corporate entity to take over the campus.
The Grandview Road site is still zoned for manufacturing, and was purchased by EKahn Development in December.
Eli Kahn put forth a plan to build an inclusive affordable housing project with 417 units on the site, saying township officials persuaded him to put forth a plan to accommodate the township’s Round 4 affordable housing mandate. After Montgomery neighbors objected to the housing plan, township officials are working to amend their housing plan to exclude the J&J/Kenvue now EKahn site from its plan. Kahn is challenging to stay in the plan, and is awaiting a judge's decision. Should he be removed from the plan, Kahn will file a manufacturing development plan with the Montgomery Planning Board (no zoning variance needed). He may also filed a mixed-use plan for manufacturing and housing, but that is another story. If the property is to remain zoned for manufacturing, it begs the question:
The Montgomery County, Pennsylvania plant is about 60 miles from J&J’s New Brunswick headquarters. Montgomery Township, NJ, site is just 18 miles from New Brunswick. Why not use their former 300-plus site in the Skillman section of Montgomery Township NJ for this miraculous facility?
Of course, some residents and neighbors may not want manufacturing to resume at 199 Grandview. But that is how the property is zoned.
The Montgomery News asked Montgomery Township Mayor Neena Singh for her thoughts on this.
She wrote her response in a text message:
“As a town we are limited on what can be offered but if you look at the PA state incentives, it is clear the state of NJ needs to get in the game and help the municipalities attract these companies.” - Mayor Neena Singh.
“Johnson & Johnson received a funding proposal from the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) for up to $12 million in tax credits through the Qualified Manufacturing Innovation and Reinvestment Deduction (QMIRD) program, up to $2 million in tax credits through the Manufacturing Tax Credit (MTC) program, a $15 million grant through the PA SITES (Pennsylvania Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites) program, and a $10 million Pennsylvania First grant," Singh said.
“Pennsylvania has also committed to providing a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) award of up to $2.5 million to a local community college and/or technical school to help create a workforce development training program that would serve as a talent pipeline for the company in Montgomery County.
“This falls under the jurisdiction of about how can the State attract and incentivize these companies.
J&J said in a press release that the new facility is part of the company’s previously announced $55 billion U.S. investment in manufacturing, research and development, and technology through early 2029.
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This includes new construction and major capacity expansions concentrated mainly in North Carolina and Pennsylvania as part of a coordinated domestic manufacturing initiative.
J&J already has 10 facilities in Pennsylvania, with an estimated annual economic impact of about $10 billion, the company said in its announcement. This includes more than 2 million square feet dedicated to manufacturing, research, distribution, and offices.
Gov. Josh Shapiro contributed a statement to be included in J&J’s announcement: “Pennsylvania is a powerhouse for innovation and manufacturing in the life sciences,” he said. “Just a few years ago we weren’t even on the field – but today we’re competing and winning. We’ve done it by creating the first economic development plan for Pennsylvania in two decades, and following through on it by cutting red tape, making strategic investments in key industries like the life sciences, and strengthening our workforce.”
Gov. Shapiro said companies such as Johnson & Johnson are choosing to “double down on their investments here in our Commonwealth because they know we’ve got the strategy, the workforce, and the speed they need to succeed.”
The J&J project is supported by a $41.5 million investment from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, according to a statement released Wednesday by Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Rick Siger.
Meanwhile, Montgomery Township has several vacant corporate campuses, in addition to the former J&J site.
What will become of these sites?
