Two signs of progress along the Route 1 corridor came September 19, when two projects got the green light from municipal officials.
The controversial transit village plan by InterCap Holdings to build 800 townhomes and 100,000 square feet of retail space in the tract now occupied by office space at 14 Washington Road received approval from the West Windsor Township Council.
The approval comes after years of contention and lawsuits regarding the impact of a transit village on the area adjacent to the Princeton Junction Train Station. But there is still the matter of Planning Board approval.
InterCap CEO Steve Goldin said after the vote that he expects to have the site plan ready for the Planning Board next year and that he hopes to break ground in 2013.
The other bit of progress was the Plainsboro Planning Board’s approval of an expansion project at 109 Morgan Lane by Integra Lifesciences. The 58,000-square-foot building will be renovated for the company’s new collagen manufacturing plant
The site is one of two on Morgan Lane for Integra, and one it has occupied for years.
Right now there are about 65 people based at 109, but company spokeswoman Gianna Sabella said the renovation will make way for as many as 100 additional employees.
The renovation project is the latest sign of expansion for Integra, which also has just acquired Ascension, a Texas-based developer of products for the foot, hand, and shoulder markets. The $65 million acquisition means that roughly 45 percent — $600 million — of Integra’s income will now be generated through products in these areas.
The deal also balances Integra’s presence in lower body devices.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close by October 1.
Intergra, which was founded in 1989 with fewer than 10 employees, now employs more than 700 in Plainsboro and roughly 3,000 worldwide.
#b#Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation#/b# (IART), 313 Enterprise Drive, Plainsboro 08536; 609-936-3600; fax, 609-275-5363. Stuart M. Essig, CEO. www.integra-ls.com
