Corrections or additions?
These articles by Kathleen McGinn Spring were prepared for the
August 22, 2001 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Book Value: Sands Gift
Estelle and George H. Sands have contributed $5 million
toward the Princeton Public Library’s building fund, and the library
has announced that the new $17.5 million building will carry their
names.
The new library will be built on the current site
after that building is demolished. The library will move to temporary
quarters in the Princeton Shopping Center in October. The new
building,
designed by Hillier, is scheduled to open in late-2003.
George Sands, a Princeton resident for 55 years,
made his fortune in real estate. Along with his son, Jeffrey, he owns
Hilton Realty, the property-investment firm he founded in 1952. Among
its holdings are the Montgomery Shopping Center, Research Park,
and the building at 194 Nassau Street that houses the company’s
offices.
Princeton Optronics is poised to move to the next level.
The developer and manufacturer of active components for fiber optic
networks has received $25 million in second round financing. “This
is our launch pad, from here we go forward,” says Tim Hays,
director
of marketing for the eight-year-old company. (U.S. 1, August 8).
Started as Princeton Electronic Systems by Chuni Ghosh, a Sarnoff
alumnus, the company was self-funded until last year. Altogether,
it has raised $30 million. This round was co-led by Investor Capital
Growth and St. Paul Venture Capital and includes investments from
Technology Venture Partners and first round investors Novak Biddle
and Intel Capital.
The new funding will be used to bring new products to market and to
expand current manufacturing operations, housed at the company’s
headquarters
at 1 Electronics Way in Mercerville. Now at 70 employees, the company
expects to be up to “hundreds of employees” within two or
three years, says Hays.
Approximately 60 percent of the company’s hires will be technicians
involved in the manufacturing process, while 20 percent are expected
to be in R & D, and the rest in administration.
Hays, who graduated from Widener in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree
in electrical engineering, knows the young company is revving up to
serve telecommunications companies at a perilous time. Among his past
jobs was a stint at Lucent. He didn’t hang onto any Lucent stock,
and has high hopes for this start-up, a company whose new funding
boosts its chances of succeeding in a new telecommunications niche.
Morgan Architecture, 33 State Road, Suite B,Princeton08540. Malak Morgan, principal. 609-921-3275; fax, 609-921-3675.Homepage: www.morganarchitecture.comMalak Morgan moved her architecture firm from 800 feet at PrincetonMeadows Office Center to 1,000 feet on State Road, to be closer totown. Phone and fax are new. She is currently supervising constructionfor Prudential in Logan Township and designing an addition to St.Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in East Brunswick. She has also designedan Orthodox Church in Holmdel, including a community hall and asanctuary,as yet to be built.Top Of PageContracts AwardedAssociated Press, 19 Commerce Drive, Center Pointat 8A, Cranbury 08512. Rudy Bakker, manager. 609-860-6900; fax,609-860-6994.Matrix Development is selling the wire service’s 65,000 square footbuilding to Corporate Office Properties for $11.5 million, but APis going to stay put. “We have a 15-year lease here,” saysRudy Bakker, the manager. Seven years ago the company consolidatedits data processing, training, and warehouse operations here at CenterPoint at 8A.Top Of PageCorrectionPRG Systems is not related to ERP Advantage or Caplacom Inc. (U.S.1, August 15). PRG Systems Inc., says Uma Pandey, is a new company,specializing in projects and product development, with offices at410 Wall Street (609-683-4540, www.prgsi.com).Top Of PageDeathGeorge W. Briehler, 70, on August 20. He owned the StageDepot complex at Pennytown in Pennington. His son, Michael Briehler,owns the Pennington Athletic Club. The funeral will be Thursday,August23, at 11 a.m. at the Wilson-Apple Funeral Home.Previous StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
