Fiberoptic, Finance, Telecom on the Move
Corrections or additions?
These articles were prepared for the March 14, 2001
edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Life in the Fast Lane: Millstone Bypass
Faced with obstinate opposition on both sides, the
state Department of Transportation has proposed a new approach to
studying the Millstone Bypass controversy — mediation. DOT
commissioner
James Weinstein says his agency will try to work out differences with
opponents through third-party mediation provided by Rutgers
University.
This new “community-based approach” toward construction of
the roadway could smooth opposition to the project, but it would not
reduce the timeline for getting it started.
“The NJDOT is committed to taking an entirely fresh look at this
project. Everything is on the table and we intend to proceed by
bringing
everyone who has a stake in this project’s future to the table,”
says Weinstein. “The difference here is that we are shifting the
lead of this process to our environmental and public policy
professionals,
and using our engineering staff to provide the technical support.
“What we will attempt to do is develop the future of this project
in a way that is sensitive to the concerns of the local communities
while still addressing an important need on a very congested section
of the Route 1 corridor,” says Weinstein.
The proposed bypass would eliminate the circle at Washington Road
and Route 1 and allow cars to travel signal-free from the Carnegie
Center to College Road. As planned, cars would cut through Sarnoff
Center property from the Princeton Junction railroad tracks to Route
1 and cross the highway on an overpass at Harrison Street. Some
traffic
would enter Princeton at Harrison Street, and other cars would travel
south along the Delaware & Raritan Canal to enter Princeton along
Washington Road. Southbound traffic could exit Route 1 at Washington
Road, and Washington Road traffic could enter Route 1 from Washington
Road, but that intersection would have no traffic circle and no
traffic
signal.
Last October, in spite of vociferous opposition on the Princeton side
of the highway, the DOT was preparing to proceed with the project.
The agency was relying on an environmental assessment that supported
its preferred alignment. Several weeks later, in response to the
opposition,
then-Governor Christie Whitman put a stop to the process and ordered
the completion of a full environmental impact statement. Fervent
supporters
on both sides have not ceased their lobbying efforts.
Under the DOT’s new plan, the Rutgers University Transportation Policy
Institute and the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution have
been hired to act as “objective facilitators” to help manage
and conduct the two-year environmental impact statement (EIS) on the
project. Project objectives include:
Creating a project “roundtable” to help define,steer and manage the process;Reopening the process for consideration of any and allstrategies and alternatives;Fostering a “high-quality and flexible” publicinvolvementprocess with opportunities for participation in a variety of formats;Emphasizing continuous, comprehensive and opencommunicationbetween NJDOT, local officials, property owners, and interested groupsand individuals; andFocusing on consensus building with the assistance ofprofessionals trained in public involvement, negotiation and conflictresolution, as well as transportation policy.The department will begin the EIS process with a series ofinterviewswith opponents and supporters of the project to get a betterunderstandingof the issues to be addressed. In addition, the process will includea series of smaller public “listening sessions,” open housesand workshops, Weinstein says.The first phase of the EIS process is expected to take about sixmonthsto complete and will conclude with a report listing the conceptualstrategies and alternatives (including a no-build alternative) thatwill be evaluated in the Draft EIS.Once the alternatives have been identified, it is anticipated thatthe remainder of the EIS process will take 18 months to complete.The final EIS would be submitted to the Federal HighwayAdministration,which will determine whether the project can move forward.This plan is the exact opposite of the DOT’s past practice: To presenta proposal and then seek community input. If this new method provessuccessful, it could radically change DOT’s operations.Top Of PageOne Up, Two Down:One of Princeton’s rising stars is replacing a fallenone. Princeton Optronics, formerly known as Princeton ElectronicsSystems, will take over where Base Ten Systems left off at 1ElectronicsDrive in Hamilton. It will occupy half of the 84,000-square-feetavailable.Princeton Optronics — now in the Dataram complex onPrinceton-HightstownRoad — has products for chemical and nuclear detection, videocommunications, and voltage controlled oscillators. It also does R&Dfor other electronic components and government/defense research.Base Ten, once one of the Princeton area’s brightest manufacturingstars, will be shut down by May. It was manufacturing executionsystemsand services for the international pharmaceutical and medical devicesindustries. “It’s been a sad experience,” says Kenneth Riley,the CFO in charge of dismantling the firm. He has moved the dwindlingoperation, renamed Prime Manufacturing, to temporary quarters in BelleMead.”We are shutting down the New Jersey operations and plan to takethe shell of the company to Vero Beach, Florida, to get into contractmanufacturing,” says Riley. Ed Klinsport, the former CEO of BaseTen, has a business — Paragon Industries — in Vero Beach(561-231-5125).The space formerly occupied by Strategic Technology Systems remainsempty. Though Base Ten tried to get into the medical device business,Strategic Technology Systems struggled to retain the militarycontracts— military devices, data recorders, and automatic targetrecognitionunits. Jerry Fennelly of NAI Fennelly, representing the owner, hadadvertised the space at $8.50 gross rent per square foot last fall.John Marks atCushman Wakefield and Hal Hoeland represented the tenant. Remainingto be leased: 35,000 square feet.Prime Manufacturing/Base Ten Systems Inc., 528Primrose Court, Belle Mead 08502. Kenneth Riley, CFO. 908-359-1867;fax, 908-359-6403.Princeton Optronics, 1 Electronics Drive,Hamilton08690, Box 8627, Princeton 08543. Chuni Ghosh, CEO. 609-275-6500;fax, 609-799-7743. Www.princetonoptronics.com.Top Of PageFiberoptic, Finance, Telecom on the MovePD/LD Inc. (Photo Diode-Laser Diode), 30 BPennington-HopewellRoad, Pennington 08534. Vladimir Ban, president. 609-564-7900; fax,609-564-7901. Home page: www.pd-ld.com.Another fiber optics company is growing fast. This onedoubled in size in both space and personnel with a move last weekfrom 6,000 square feet at Research Park to 12,500 feet, sharing spacewith Kooltronics at the 100,000 square foot-site in Pennington. Fornow, the old phone numbers (609-924-7979; fax, 609-924-7366) are theones that work.DesignBuild designed and built two new clean rooms — one for R&Dand one for production. PD/LD has 51 employees and is hiring as fastas it can. Especially needed are assembly manufacturing personnel,with pay based on experience.CEO Vladimir Ban, a Croatian emigre, had helped found Epitaxx, thesuccessful fiber optics firm that was sold in 1990 and now, as JDUniphase, has 1,000 employees on Graphics Drive.Merrill Lynch. Merrill Lynch Drive, Pennington08534. 609-274-1000.More than 3,000 workers have now moved to the new Merrill Lynch campusin Hopewell. John Barbano heads the Private Client Technology groupat the new facility, and John Cummings heads U.S. Private ClientServices.By next year, this campus will also have a branch office.Many of the employees moved from Somerset and from College Road.MerrillLynch had totally occupied the 72,000 square-foot building at 400College Road, which is now being taken over by Bloomberg FinancialServices. Merrill Lynch also had space at 500 College Road and 3IndependenceWay.ITXC Corp. (Internet Telephony Exchange Carrier)(ITXC),600 College Road East, Princeton 08540. Tom Evslin, CEO. 609-419-1500;fax, 609-419-1511. Home page: www.itxc.com.By this summer the Internet telephony services carrier will movefromjust under 30,000 square feet at 600 College Road to 70,000 feet inthe new building under construction at 750 College Road. ITXC wasnamed the second fastest growing technology company in the UnitedStates, based on growth over the last three years, by Deloitte &Touche.The new building, being developed by Aegis Property Group and BerwindProperty Group, was “topped out” (saw its final piece of steelerected) last month. Berwind owned the North Brunswick building whereITXC got its start; it also developed State Street Square in downtownPrinceton and owns two other buildings at the Forrestal Center.Top Of PageNicholson ExpandsD>Nicholson International is nearly doubling its spacethis month with a move from 3,500 square feet at Carnegie Center to6,500 square feet at 100 Overlook Center.This executive search and human resources consulting company is basedin the United Kingdom and has 34 offices in 25 countries. This branchopened at 206 Carnegie Center in August, 1998. At that time therewere just three New Jersey employees. The office has grown to 12people.The company also has an office in New York City, and, says GilbertCarrera, managing director of the company’s North American healthcarepractice, is planning for significant growth within the next 12 to18 months.The bulk of Nicholson’s business in central New Jersey comes fromplacing executives at healthcare companies, including pharmaceuticals,biotechs, and medical device companies. Nicholson also targets clientsin other industries, including food and beverage, informationtechnology,telecom, consumer goods, and entertainment, and is moving intoexecutiverecruiting for the insurance and financial services industries.Nicholson consults on human resource issues, including employeeretentionand team building, and has a diversity practice through which itadvisesclients on multi-cultural workplace issues.Millinger, who heads one of the new consulting departments, graduatedfrom George Washington University with a degree in English in 1992.He also holds a master’s degree in social work from New YorkUniversity.Barbara Butcher is manager of the office. A graduate of the Universityof Tennessee, she was a consultant with The Stevenson Group, aretainer-basedsearch and management consulting firm.Carrera, who holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology from Drew University(Class of 1982) and a medical degree from Ross University, workedfor executive search firm Korn Ferry for seven years. He says demandfor top employees in healthcare companies remains strong despitemergers.Among the most sought after employees in the pharmaceutical industry,he says, are clinical and research personnel with specialties inoncology,central nervous system, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases.Key managers are getting harder to find. “There has been a drainat the top,” Carrera says. In the expanding economy of the pastdecade “executives made significant dollars,” he says.”Nowfamily issues and quality of life are important. They’re saying `I’vemade enough, I’ll get out of the rat race.’”Nicholson International, 100 Overlook, Princeton08540. Barbara Butcher, manager. 609-720-1800; fax, 609-720-1850.Home page: www.nicholsonintl.com.Top Of PageExpansionsAlan Brooks Design Inc., 20 Nassau Street, Suite125, Princeton 08542. Alan Brooks, president. 609-924-3838; fax,609-924-0088.www.alanbrooks.com.The design firm expanded from the second floor to the first floorat 20 Nassau Street after a 25 percent increase in sales last year.”Up to now, we’ve been predominately a print shop,” saysChristineHough, development director. “But we’re receiving more requeststo produce increasingly complex website work, and the solution isto grow the company accordingly.”Brooks went to the School of Visual Arts, Class of 1977. The firmdoes corporate identity, sales materials, and website design. Recenthires include Dhana Green, who had spent six years as art directorfor Merrill Lynch Financial Services, and Randy Brasov, new directorof interactive media.Corporate Staffing Solutions/A Staffing NowCompany,125 Village Boulevard, Suite 330, Princeton 08540. Laurie Knafo,regionalmanager. 609-452-0287; fax, 609-452-0289.This office of Corporate Staffing Solutions, along with six others,has been acquired by A Staffing Now, based in Des Moines, Iowa.CorporateStaffing was founded in 1994 by Sally and Malcolm Schneider, basedin West Springfield, Massachusetts. With this acquisition — itsfifth in two years — the acquiring firm has 40 offices, with manyin Florida. It focuses on accounting, information technology, salesand marketing, and administrative — permanent and temporarydivisions.Top Of PageName ChangesFirst Horizon Home Loans Corp. (FTN), 12 RoszelRoad, Suite A 104, Princeton 08540. Gary Shambaugh, branch manager.609-243-9161; fax, 609-243-0127.Maryland National Mortgage Corp. is now known as First Horizon HomeLoans Corp.Top Of PageDeathsKaren M. Parsons , 44, on March 3. She worked at Wegman’sFood Markets at Nassau Park.Virginia Emery Hendrickson , 67, on March 6. She hadfoundedand directed the Breast Cancer Resource Center.Barbara T. Soganic , 65, on March 6. She had been a tourguide at Morven and a museum technician for the state.Corrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
