Governor Chris Christie has signed a law that overhauls the state’s business incentive programs. The bill, called the Economic Opportunity Act of 2013, replaces a number of existing programs with two categories: GrowNJ for job creation and the Economic Redevelopment and Growth program for developers.
“When both parties work together, we can get big things done, and this bipartisan effort is a perfect example,” said Christie. “The Economic Opportunity Act incentivizes job creation, makes our state more competitive, and lets private sector employers know that New Jersey is the place where they should open their doors. I once again commend leaders on both sides of the aisle for their hard work, and am pleased to sign this job-creating legislation into law.”
The bill places extra emphasis on spurring development and private sector job growth in “Garden State Growth Zones,” identified in the legislation as the four lowest median family income cities in the state: Camden, Trenton, Passaic City, and Paterson. Projects in these cities will have significantly lower eligibility thresholds and higher incentive levels. They will also be eligible to give property tax abatements for new development.
#b#New in Town#/b#
Arrowpac, a freight forwarding company headquartered in Secaucus, moved its New Jersey distribution center to 85 Twin Rivers Drive in East Windsor. The company, represented by Cushman & Wakefield’s Daniel Badenhausen and Andrew Stypa, purchased the 77,000-square-foot building, which had been vacant for several years after FedEx moved out, from Hightstown Associates LLC.
Founded in 1980, Arrowpac ships cargo to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean islands. In a press release, Badenhausen said that the relocation of its shipping facility “responded to strong company growth” and also coincided with Arrowpac’s primary Northeast shipping line relocating from the Port of New York/New Jersey to the Port of Philadelphia.
“Arrowpac, which is expanding rapidly, wanted to accommodate its current employee base while getting closer to Philadelphia,” he said. “Staying proximate to the New Jersey Turnpike — a major artery for trucking — also was important. We identified the Exit 8 market as a perfect balance from a location standpoint.”
The former FedEx terminal accommodates Arrowpac’s loading requirements and also provides room for additional growth. “This property has a lot of doors and also can be expanded,” Badenhausen said. “The fact that it sits right next to the Turnpike and was available for an excellent price presented a great solution.”
According to press accounts, the company plans to employ 19 people at its new location.
Arrowpac, 85 Twin Rivers Drive, East Windsor 08520; 201-330-7800; fax, 201-330-9858. Tom Parshall, VP, U.S. operations. www.arrowpac.com.
MedLit Graphics, 92 North Main Street, Suite 18F, Windsor 08561; 609-448-9400; Lakshman Samala, president.
MedLit Graphics, a pharmaceutical literature printing company, has opened an office on North Main Street in Windsor.
Lakshman Samala, president of the company, said the company has about 12 employees and specializes in preparing drug packaging inserts and medication guides. MedLit started up about four months ago.
Samala has a PhD. in chemistry from an Indian university, and a background in the pharmaceutical industry.
#b#Crosstown Moves#/b#
Pixel Systems Inc, 103 Carnegie Center, Suite 300, Princeton 08540; 609-945-3190; fax, 208-485-5457. Sridevi Viswanatha & Robert Corio. www.pixelsystemsinc.com.
IT consulting firm Pixel Systems has moved from 186 Princeton-Hightstown Road to a shared office in Carnegie Center.
Kroll Direct Marketing Inc, 666 Plainsboro Road, Suite 1010, Plainsboro 08536; 609-275-2900; fax, 609-275-6606. Leland Kroll, president. www.krolldirect.com.
Kroll Direct Marketing, a bulk mailing company, has moved from 101 Morgan Street to 666 Plainsboro Road. Vinnie DiMeglio of Colliers International brokered the move for the tenant. Phone and fax remain the same.
#b#Tris Strikes Deal For Allergy Medicine#/b#
Tris Pharma, 2033 Route 130 South, Suite D, Monmouth Junction 08852; 732-940-2800; fax, 732-940-2855. Ketan Mehta, president. www.trispharma.com.
Tris Pharma, a biotech company on Route 130 South in Monmouth Junction, has made a deal with a Charlotte-based pharma, FSC Laboratories Inc., to commercialize Tris’s child allergy treatment drug, Karbinal ER.
Karbinal ER extended-release oral suspension is the first sustained-release histamine receptor blocking agent for the treatment of seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis in children ages 2 and up. Tris Pharma said in a press release that Karbinal ER will be available in pharmacies across the U.S. in time for the 2014 spring allergy season.
“Karbinal ER offers an attractive treatment option for the approximately 30 percent of allergy sufferers who don’t get adequate relief from second generation antihistamines or are dissatisfied with the inconvenient dosing schedules of currently available antihistamines,” said Peter Steelman, president of FSC Laboratories. “We’re excited to be partnered with Tris to make this pleasant-tasting extended-release liquid formulation of carbinoxamine, a mildly sedating antihistamine with years of proven safety and efficacy, available for patients as young as two years old.”
Tris will manufacture Karbinal ER using its proprietary technology and FSC will market the drug. FSC will pay Tris up to $20 million in fixed and sales-related milestones, as well as a significant double-digit royalty on net sales.
#b#Management Moves#/b#
First Choice Bank, 669 Whitehead Road, Lawrenceville 08648; 609-989-9000; fax, 609-631-8803. www.firstchoice-bank.com.
First Choice Bank has named Nicholas A. Frungillo Jr. interim president of the bank following the departure of president and CEO Randy Hanks. The switch took place September 13.
Frungillo joined First Choice Bank in 2006 as executive vice president and CFO. He has more than 30 years of experience in banking. Frungillo joined the company from the Town Bank in Westfield, where he served as a director and CFO. A graduate of Rutgers, Frungillo is a certified public accountant. First Choice Bank opened its first branch in Lawrenceville in 2007 and has five branches in Mercer County and one in Kingston.
Meals On Wheels of Trenton/Ewing, 180 Ewingville Road, Ewing 08638; 609-695-3483; fax, 609-883-1750. Sasa Olessi Montano, executive director. www.mowte.org.
Sasa Olessi Montano of Trenton has been named executive director of Meals on Wheels Trenton/Ewing, replacing retiring director Judy Shouse Levy. Meals on Wheels of Trenton/Ewing provides more than 200 meals per day to the aged and homebound.
Montano, who serves as president of the Trenton School Board, is a professor at Rider and a graduate of Bryn Mawr and Johns Hopkins universities. She is past executive director of the YWCA of Trenton, founding director of the Pace Center at Princeton University, and the founder of Latinas Unidas. She has served on numerous commissions and boards, many with a focus on the city of Trenton and its residents. Currently, she serves on the Trenton City Planning Board, the Rescue Mission of Trenton board of directors, and the state Board of Human Services.
Name Changes
Kyowa Hakko Kirin (KYKOF), 212 Carnegie Center, Suite 101, Princeton 08540; 609-919-1100; fax, 609-919-1111. Shigeru Kobayashi, president. www.kyowa-kpi.com.
The Tokyo-based pharmaceutical company has changed its name from Kyowa Pharmaceutical Inc., due to a merger of its Japanese parent company.
#b#Deaths#/b#
David H. Knights, 60, on September 24. A vice president of Picus Associates, the real estate advisory firm at Princeton Forrestal Center, Knights was also president of Preservation New Jersey. Along with architect Michael Mills he was featured twice on the cover of U.S. 1 for successful preservation efforts: Knights and Mills posed in front of the Hopewell Railroad Station for U.S. 1’s story on November 28, 2001. The two struck an almost identical pose in front of the church being restored as the 1867 Sanctuary at Ewing for the June 13, 2012, issue.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 4, at 1:30 p.m. at the Hopewell Railroad Station, 2 Railroad Place, Hopewell. Donations may be made to Preservation New Jersey, 310 West State Street, Trenton NJ 08618.
Denise G. Wooten, 61, on September 22. She was a client relations supervisor at Educational Testing Service for more than 30 years.
Larry Hugick, 59, on September 22. He was chairman of Princeton Survey Research Associates International at 600 Alexander Road and an exit poll analyst for NBC News.
