Expansions at Ibis Plaza: Textile Creations
Contracts Awarded: Edda and IVF
Corrections or additions?
These articles by Barbara Fox were prepared for the November 24,
2004 issue of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Life in the Fast Lane: Rollerblade
Rollerblade USA, which gets the credit for rolling out the inline
skate industry, moved its headquarters office from Bordentown to 4,500
square feet at University Plaza II last month. Ten years ago it
patented a new braking system, but no brakes have been applied to its
growth.
The company makes more than 30 models of skates and claims 250
innovations. The brake, patented in 1994, does not require the skater
to raise the foot. Instead, the skater puts one foot forward so that
the cuff leans backward. A small arm attaches to the brake pad and
pushes down on the pavement. The newest patent is for an expandable
children’s skate, which has a toe box that slides forward and latches
into one of four different sizes.
Rollerblade skates are sold at sporting goods chains and pro shops.
“We prefer to support the smaller companies, and they give the
attention that the product needs,” says Jeremy Stonier, the general
manager of the company, formerly owned by Benetton and now owned by
Tecnica. Skates for children and youth start at $19 and go to $500 for
racers. Designed in the United States and Trevignano (near Venice,
Italy), they are manufactured in Italy and Asia.
The son of an entrepreneur, Stonier grew up in several locations,
including Manhattan and Mercer County; after studying at Middlebury
College, he graduated in 1992 with a double major in economics and
sociology from Principia College in Illinois. He worked on Wall
Street, taught skiing, and was a sporting goods buyer, joining
Rollerblade in 1999. He lives in Princeton with his wife, a former
teacher at Wycoff School in West Windsor, and their toddler son.
Rollerblade had moved to New Jersey from Minnesota in 1999 when it
joined its sister company, Prince Manufacturing, which focuses on
tennis. At that point the parent company, Benetton, was energetically
purchasing sporting goods companies. Among the other sports
represented in the Benetton family were ski boots from Nordica and
snowboards and sunglasses from Killer Loop. “They were an apparel
company that did not have what it took to run a sporting goods
company,” says Stonier.
With the help of investors, Prince bought itself out, and Tecnica,
headed by Giancarlo Zanatta, bought Rollerblade last July. “It was
time to move out on our own,” says Nicholas Skally, marketing
director.
Tecnica’s owner, Zanatta, started out manufacturing shoes, then ski
boots, and now inline skates. “He is obsessed by perfecting equipment
for the feet,” says Skally, who started with Rollerblade when he was
an avid skater and a journalism major at the University of Minnesota,
Class of 1999; he moved with the firm to New Jersey that year.
Skally claims more than 40 percent of the market for Rollerblade and
suggests that the major competitor is Seattle-based K2, which “also
makes everything from fishing poles to skis.”
“We get a lot of crosstrainers and ice skaters, because they find it
difficult to get access to ice,” says Skally. “And we get letters
about clubs for 70-year-olds.”
Steve Cohen of Moran Avenue in Princeton designed the Rollerblade
space, which has an open floor plan but also includes custom skate
displays, “cutouts” with special lights. “We had high end office
megacubes made of light blond wood, black metal, and glass,” says
Stonier. “They have a very striking look. We wanted to maintain that
look in a more open environment, and Steve helped us create a space
that fit our needs.”
The best part about the new quarters, say Stonier, is its proximity to
Mercer County Park, site of the county’s best asphalt skating trails.
“At the ribbon cutting, Hamilton’s mayor urged us to try Veteran’s
Park.” It’s a fun place to work, he says. “We’re not out there saving
the world, but we are promoting an enjoyable and healthy thing to do.
In the spring and summer we close down and have picnic/skate days.”
He’s not hiring now, but prospective employees do not have to be
skaters. Says Stonier: “We have a business to run, and once we have
the right people, it’s pretty easy to learn.”
Rollerblade USA Corporation, 3705 Quakerbridge Road, University Plaza
II, Suite 207, Hamilton. Jeremy Stonier, general manager.
609-249-1700; fax, 609-249-1790. Home page: www.rollerblade.com
ABC Real Estate LLC, 3705 Quakerbridge Road, Suite 200,Hamilton 08619. Steven Hercman, owners’ representative. 609-689-4670;fax, 609-689-4671.A family-owned business, ABC Real Estate, announced new UniversityPlaza tenants with a ribbon cutting celebration on Monday, November22. The most prominent of the tenants is Rollerblade USA Corporation(see article above). Bruce Carnegie of Maguire Burke is in charge ofleasing the building, and Jerry Fennelly of NAI Fennelly representedthe tenant, Rollerblade.Steven Hercman is the owners’ representative for ABC Real Estate,which is headquartered in Ridgewood, New York. Hercman grew up inQueens and majored in premed at New York University, Class of 2000,before deciding to go into the family business and change it from aninvestment firm to an active real estate company. His father is asweater manufacturer and his mother a school teacher; his wife is asocial worker.Hercman’s company, ABC Real Estate, partnered with developer StanleyNewman to build University Plaza in 1988, and it is now the soleowner. “When we bought it, it was 80 percent occupied,” says Hercman.”Our company prides itself on – if a company wants space, we try togive it to them,” says Hercman. “We fit out the entire space forthem.”ValueOptions (CSA for New Jersey Child Behavioral HealthServices), 3705 Quakerbridge Road, Suite 116, Hamilton 08619. AngeloMcClain, executive director. 609-689-6208; fax, 609-689-6270. Homepage: www.valueoptions.comAs part of a reform of the state’s children mental health deliverysystem, New Jersey signed a contract with Value Options, whichrecently expanded from a 3,000 sublease to 12,000 square feet atUniversity Plaza. Based in Virginia, Value Options is known for itsability to reform large delivery systems, says Angelo McClain,executive director for nearly three years. A 1979 alumnus of WestTexas State, he has a master’s degree from the University of Texas atArlington and a PhD in social work from Boston College.At this address his agency administers contracts for New Jersey ChildBehavioral Health Services, formerly called Partnership for Children.”This project sought to pool dollars and services,” says McClain,”which were fragmented between juvenile justice, child welfare, andchild mental health, and Medicaid. We provide the infrastructure.”NovaSoft Information Technology Corp., 3705 QuakerbridgeRoad, Suite 112, Mercerville 08619. Neil Bhaskar, CEO. 609-588-5500;fax, 609-588-5577. Home page: www.novasoftinfo.comFounded in 1993, this firm does E-commerce, migration and outsourcingapplications, and training. Formerly subleasing here, it signed alease for 4,500 feet. Five years ago it owned its own 18,000square-foot building, had 50 people, and was on the Inc. 500 list.Rose & Associates LLC, 3705 Quakerbridge Road, Suite 215,Mercerville 08619. Sharon L. Rose CPA, vice-president. 609-586-7772;fax, 609-586-7182. Home page: www.rosecpa.netThe general accounting firm moved from 13 Roszel Road to 1,110 squarefeet at University Office Plaza II, and it has a new phone and fax.The firm was founded in 1991.DePinto & Brown LLC, 3705 Quakerbridge Road, UniversityOffice Plaza II, Suite 214, Hamilton 08619. 609-587-5100; fax,609-587-6030.In June Lance Brown Esq. moved from 375 Route 130 in Hightstown andjoined Sal DePinto in 1,600 square feet at University Office Plaza II,where he has a new phone and fax. The firm does estate planning, realestate, collections, bankruptcy, tax controversies, probate, andestate litigation.The anchor tenant at University Plaza is Unisys, which processesMedicaid claims. Other tenants include Optima Global Solutions Inc.Mercer County Special Services School District, Farm Family InsuranceCompanies, Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, and dentist GaryS. KleinTop Of PageIbis Plaza LeasingFarther down on Quakerbridge Road another development, Ibis Plaza, isannouncing expanded leases. As for the owners, two family entitieshave merged. An organization called Ibis Plaza LLC now owns the twosingle-story buildings totaling 120,000 square feet at 3535Quakerbridge Road. Office suites range in size from 1,500 to 5,000square feet and larger.Since 1982 the ownership has been in the Jerjian family, a partnershipof four Jerjian brothers. “In December, 2003, my brother Simonunexpectedly passed away, and since we had to go through a purchaseand sale agreement with his estate, we decided to form a new entitygoing forward, Ibis Plaza LLC,” says Christopher Jerjian, who now ownsthe property equally with his brothers, George and Jack.Christopher Jerjian has managed the business since 1988 and under hismanagement the project was transformed from a plain vanilla 1970soffice building to a more contemporary office park, says GerardFennelly of NAI Fennelly, Ibis Plaza’s exclusive leasing agent. “Hehas done extensive renovation, putting $4 to $5 million into it, andhe continues to spend money to make it better.”Jerjian earned a degree in economics at Leicester University in theUnited Kingdom and has a marketing diploma from NYU. He has beenworking in real estate and investment since the early 1980s.Just as ABC Real Estate suffered when Congoleum left, Ibis Plaza tooka blow when its major tenant departed. “In 1993 we lost the State ofNew Jersey as a tenant,” explains Jerjian. “This was quitedevastating, since the state leased the entire 120,000 square feet atIbis Plaza. Down, but not out, we struggled and converted thebuildings into office suites so that we would never be in a positionwhere one tenant could have so much leverage. Despite all thepredictions made by many in the real estate market we survived andcame back stronger. By the mid to late 1990s, with the help of thelocal brokerage community and the likes of NAI Fennelly and RichardsonCommercial Realtors, Ibis Plaza became viable and stable.””We have had such good support from the entire real estate communityand the Hamilton Partnership and going forward, we have a vision ofbeing an integral part of the a more dynamic and prosperous Hamiltonbusiness community,” says Jerjian. “We see Hamilton as having a majorimpact in Mercer and New Jersey in the years to come. We made amulti-million dollar investment because we believe in Hamilton’sfuture.”Top Of PageExpansions at Ibis Plaza: Textile CreationsCHN Solutions is the anchor tenant for Ibis Plaza at 3525 QuakerbridgeRoad. Other tenants at 3535 Quakerbridge Road are Capital ImagingAssociates PA, Capitol County Children’s Collaborative, HamiltonHorizons Federal Credit Union, Impact Business Information Solutions,Laser Energetics Inc., NAI Fennelly Inc. Neurological TraumaAssociates P.C., NovaCare (formerly Impact Physical Therapy & WorkInjury Center). Two tenants with expanded leases are Textile Creationsand Philadelphia Insurance Companies.Textile Creations, 3535 Quakerbridge Road, Ibis Plaza,Suite 400, Hamilton 08619. Jim Hankins, owner. 609-631-4433; fax,609-631-4434. Home page: www.textilecreations.comJim and Margie Hankins went from $2 million to $8 million in revenuesin four years and expanded from 3,000 square feet to 5,000 square feetat Ibis Plaza – all from designing, importing, and reselling quiltingfabrics. The company moved 14 employees from Suite 201 to DougForrester’s former political office, and it also outsources work to awarehouse in Passaic.All this space is for offices except for a small sample room wherecuts are kept of all the stock. “If we need to send samples we do itfrom here,” he says.”We feel we have been blessed with the growth of the business,” saysHankins, who along with his wife and four children is an active memberat Windsor Chapel in Princeton Junction. Margie Hankins continues asVP of merchandising and marketing, and the couple has hired a CFO,Mukesh Bhat, and a national sales manager, Jeremy Jeffries, fromEngland.The son of a Methodist minister, Hankins knew he always wanted to be afashion designer. Daunted by the prospect of living in New York toattend his first choice, Fashion Institute of Technology, he majoredin home economics at Middle Tennessee State, and married the storemanager at a fabric chain. In 1999 they opened their first office atOffice Concierge and moved to their own space at Ibis Plaza in 2000(U.S. 1, January 10, 2001).”About 35 percent of our business is in sales to more than 2,000 quiltstores across the country, plus we have a national distributor, and wesell to some national chains,” says Hankins. “We also export a lot todistributors internationally – all of Europe, Korea, Japan, Canada,Australia, and New Zealand.” Though quilting fabrics comprise 70percent of the business, these fabrics are also used for apparel andhome decorating. Most of the fabric is imported from India as bolts orin full rolls.Hankins, who designs most of the fabric, just finished drawingpatterns for Christmas, 2005. “Batiks, hand prints, are still veryimportant to the quilter. Pink has been strong and continues strong.But the big color for next season,” he says, “is purple.”Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY), 3525 QuakerbridgeRoad, IBIS Plaza, Suite 910, Hamilton 08619. Brian O’Reilly, regionalvice president. 609-586-6122; fax, 866-879-4284. Www.phly.comPhiladelphia Insurance Companies, a commercial property and casualtyinsurance firm, moved its regional office from Route 206 at theWhitehorse Circle to Ibis Plaza two years ago, and it recently doubledits space to 5,000 square feet.Brian O’Reilly, regional vice president, is a 1990 graduate ofLafayette College, and a native of Hamilton Township. With 36 branchesin and around Philadelphia, the Bala Cynwyd-based firm is traded onNasdaq and has 25 specialty products. It focuses on health clubs,nonprofit groups, schools, hotels, shopping centers, and professionalliability for lawyers and accountants.”We are the premiere writer of nonprofit organizations and healthclubs nationally,” says O’Reilly. “We insure a board for the decisionsthey make. For a nonprofit, most of the exposure is for isemployment-related practices, sexual harassment, and discrimination.”Top Of PageContracts Awarded: Edda and IVFEdda Technology, 14 Washington Road, Building 2, PrincetonJunction 08550. Jian-Zhong Qian, president and CEO. 609-936-8282; fax,609-799-1545. Home page: www.eddatech.comThe FDA has given marketing clearance for software for digital X-raytechnology devised by a diagnostic imaging and analysis firm, EddaTechnology, located at Washington Park. The company also has an officein Shanghai, China.IQQA-Chest Software, an image analysis system aimed at the softcopyreview of digital chest radiographic images, is the first real-timeinteractive diagnostic analysis system. Running on a PC platform, itcan quantify nodules detected with projection chest radiography, themost commonly performed imaging procedure.Though lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, only 16percent of cases are diagnosed at an early stage. If found and treatedin the early stages, the average five-year survival rate is nearly 50percent.Radiologists will use this software to identify, confirm, and quantifypulmonary lesions. Lesion-specific image enhancement viewing willdynamically detail image structures and highlight suspicious areasthat suggest nodular abnormalities. It provides analysis tools toidentify characteristics, including size, density and shape, then itassembles a clinical report for follow-up review.”This combination will have a broad impact on improving nodule casediagnosis and patient prognosis, especially as digital X-Ray continuesto gain market acceptance and acceleration,” Jian-Zhong Qian,president and CEO.IVF New Jersey, 3100 Princeton Pike, Building 4 Suite I,Lawrenceville 08640. Susan Treiser MD. 609-799-5666; fax,609-219-0742. Home page: www.ivfnj.comBecause of its exclusive partnership with Extend Fertility, a Bostonfirm that aims to prolong the fertile life of women, IVF New Jerseycan provide egg freezing services for women who want to freeze andstore their young, healthier eggs.”In the past, women were bound by the limitations of time when it cameto their reproductive choices. Women who wanted to get pregnant laterin life were faced with egg quality issues,” Susan Treiser,co-director of IVF NJ. “This will allow women who have not yet decidedto have children to preserve their eggs until a time in their lifewhen they are ready to have a family.”IVF NJ is one of the first centers where Extend Fertility clients canhave the service provided. One of the largest fertility practices inthe world, IVF New Jersey also offers insemination with donor sperm,egg donation, gestational surrogacy, in-vitro fertilization,intracytoplasmic sperm injection, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis,and blastocyst transfer.PharmaNet, 504 Carnegie Center, Princeton 08540-6242.Jeffrey McMullen, president and COO. 609-951-6800; fax, 609-514-0390.Home page: www.pharmanet.netSFBC International Inc. is buying PharmaNet, a private clinicalresearch organization (CRO) which has 300 workers at the CarnegieCenter and about 750 people overall. Jeffrey McMullen will remainpresident and CEO of PharmaNet and join the SFBC board, and all of thecompany’s employees are expected to continue.SFBC will buy all the PharmaNet stock for about $245 million in cash.Jefferies & Company represented SFBC and UBS Investment Bankrepresented PharmaNet in the transaction, which is expected to closeby the end of this year.Trading on NASDAQ as SFCC, SFBC provides specialized drug developmentservices to global and specialty pharmaceutical, biotechnology andgeneric drug companies. PharmaNet recently topped ratings taken by atrade publication in Europe and the United States for its reputationas a clinical research organization. With a global Phase II-IVplatform comprised of 19 offices on five continents, it has a variedcustomer base of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical devicecompanies.Top Of PageExpansions: Cambridge SchoolCambridge School, 100 Straube Center Boulevard, Pennington08534. Deborah Peters, head of school. 609-730-9553; fax,609-730-9584. Home page: www.thecambridgeschool.orgThe Cambridge School moved from 62 South Main Street to a new 22,000square-foot building at the Straube Center in November. Using acurriculum based on the Orton-Gillingham method and Lindamood-BellLearning Processes, Cambridge serves children, ages five througheighth grade, with language-based learning differences.Princeton Food Services Inc., 444 Wall Street, Princeton08540. Stephen P. Baclini, president. 609-924-2262; fax, 609-924-0184.Princeton Food Services expanded from the Village Shopper across thestreet to Research Park, and eight people work in 3,000 square feet,says Peggy Gladstone, the office manager. John Rawson founded thecompany in 1984 and is board chairman; he owns 22 Wendy’s restaurantsin New Jersey and Staten Island. The firm is also known as Rawson FoodServices.Top Of PageName Changes: LFL Veritas LLCLFL Veritas LLC, 1230 Parkway Avenue, Parkway CorporateCenter, Suite 301, Ewing 08628. Hal Levenson, president. 609-882-4171;fax, 609-883-4090.Levenson & Associates has changed its name to LFL Veritas LLC. Thefirm offers management advisory services, tax planning andpreparation, financial and estate planning, accounting and auditing,computer system implementation, and forensic and litigation support.Top Of PageCrosstown MovesStarkey’s Signs, 23 Surrey Drive, Hamilton Square 08690.Bill Starkey. 609-584-9220; fax, 609-587-1530.Bill Starkey moved his commercial sign-making business from 2479Pennington Road in Trenton to an address in Hamilton Square. Phone andfax are new. He offers painted and vinyl signs.Top Of PageCrime Watch: Assets FrozenJohn Torkelsen was due to go to court in October on charges ofdefrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration out of $32 million,but on Monday, November 8, he signed an agreement that will keep hiscivil suit out of court. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office forthe Eastern District of Pennsylvania, this agreement means thatTorkelsen – a former Princeton resident who had an office at 5 VaughnDrive – does not admit wrongdoing.Meanwhile the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington is conducting acriminal investigation into the fund, but there is no informationavailable about how far that investigation has gone.The U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia, Paul Shapiro, says there will be nocivil trial for Torkelsen, but that Torkelsen’s signature means thatpermanent restraining freezes his personal and business assets andprevents his venture capital company, Acorn Technology Fund, fromdoing business.The complaint, filed in January, 2003, under the Mail Fraud InjunctionAct, alleged that Torkelsen, two family members, and a businessassociate “engaged in a scheme fraudulently to obtain and misapplygovernment funds through the use of several corporations which theycontrolled, and to funnel at least some of these ill-gotten funds tothemselves and others.” Supposedly they made fraudulentmisrepresentations in the application to get $32 million in fundingfrom the SBA for Acorn Technology Fund.The SBA had temporarily been appointed as a receiver for Acorn. Nowthe court is expected to appoint a permanent receiver to collect andmanage the assets. Torkelsen’s attorney is William Crenshaw of PowellGoldstein in Washington, D.C.Top Of PageAxelrod PleaA former fugitive known for his sale of millions of dollars ofinstruments to the New Jersey Symphony pleaded not guilty on Friday,November 12, to helping a former employee file a fraudulent taxreturn. Judge Garrett E. Brown Jr. set a trial date for March 1forHerbert Axelrod.Indicted in April, the former pet products mogul fled to Cuba andEurope, but was extradited from Germany and is now at Monmouth CountyJail. According to Axelrod’s attorney, Michael B. Himmel, Axelrod, 77,wanted to come back to the United States because he has a seriousheart problem.The initial charges were that he conspired to defraud the IRS byhelping to hide $700,000 in a Swiss bank account. Axelrod is alsofacing a civil suit involving the sale of TFH Publications, hisNeptune City-based firm that publishes books on pets and sells dogtoys.In 2003 Axelrod claimed his collection of rare stringed instrumentswas worth $49 million and sold it to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestrafor $17 million. He has not been charged with an attempt to takefraudulent tax deductions, but that reportedly is under investigationby the FBI and IRS.Top Of PageLabor ChargesAhanita Lance, a former employee of Robert Wood Johnson in Hamiltonand Princeton Nursing Home , was charged on November 22 with failingto report those earnings during periods when she was receivingunemployment insurance benefits.During two periods in 1999, says Vaughn L. McKoy, director of theFinancial Crimes Bureau of the Division of Criminal Justice, Lancefiled for unemployment insurance at the same time that she was workingat these institutions. In 2001 she worked in Burlington County, alsoallegedly failing to report the earnings, receiving a total of morethan $6,280 in benefits.Lance is charged with two counts of theft by deception and twocounts of unsworn falsification. Mercer County Superior Court JudgeMaria M. Sypek will hear the case.The state penalty for a third degreecrime, theft by decption, is up to five years in prison and a fine ofup to $15,000. The maximum penalty for a fourth degree crime (unswornfalsification) is 18 months and a $10,000 fine.Next StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
