Corrections or additions?
Author: Melinda Sherwood. Published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on January
19, 2000. All rights reserved.
Development Destination: Booming Hamilton
Hamilton Township’s song of woe — too many people,
not enough businesses — could turn into a jig for developers and
business people, for whom "build it and they will come" is
the mantra.
Take the new AMC Hamilton 24 Theaters for example — the
Kremlin-sized
cinema off of Sloan Avenue or the yet-to-be built Hamilton Market
on Route 130, which will be home to megastores like Wal-Mart.
New development is not limited to shopping malls either; Hamilton
now has its own four-star restaurant — Rat’s at the Grounds for
Sculpture — and a pristine-looking NJ Transit train station.
The explosion of large-scale commercial projects like these are the
sum of efforts between county officials and the Hamilton Economic
Development Corporation and its chairman, Patrick Ryan
has set an agenda for development in the area: "We hope to see
Hamilton maintain its position as a high quality-of-life residential
community, but any quality community needs good commercial ratables
to carry the tax burden, particularly the school costs," says
Ryan. "The reason we formed the corporation was to bring the
commercial
ratables back in line with the residential ratables — we put too
heavy of a burden on the homeowner."
Ryan, who is also the president of Yardville National Bank, speaks
on "Business Trends in Mercer County: Boom or Bust?,"
sponsored
by the Mercer Chamber, on Wednesday, January 26, at 8:15 a.m. at the
Green Acres Country Club. Steve Tolcash
Buschman
Partners, and Harry Laubscher
Anthony, will also offer their insights. Call 609-393-4143. Cost:
$20.
Hamilton’s former mayor, Jack Rafferty
Glen Gilmore
transformed
the tax base, says Ryan. "Now commercial ratables comprise over
25 percent of the tax base, up from 17 percent four or five years
ago," he says.
Most of the economic expansion is along the Sloan Avenue/I-295
corridor
(where the AMC is located) and on I-195/Route 130 corridor, where
the new Hamilton Market will be built. JDN Realty Corporation of
Atlanta,
a 25-year-old developer whose anchor tenants include Wal-Mart and
Lowes, will break ground on that project this summer. Ralph
Knauss,
vice president for the design and construction at JDN says that a
Genuardi’s supermarket and a wholesale club — yet to be announced
— will also move into the new mall.
With a bevy of new entertainment and commercial venues, the housing
market has made a comeback, says Ryan. "The residential home
people
have told me that the train station has renewed interest in Hamilton
— it makes the commute that much easier," he says.
Township officials have also limited new residential development to
age-restricted communities (which don’t burden the school system),
resulting in a new demographic trend: "We’re looking essentially
at the graying of Hamilton," says Ryan. "They tell me that
50 percent of those units are being bought by people outside of
Hamilton
Township."
As president of Yardville National Bank, Ryan also views Hamilton’s
economic development from the perspective of a commercial lender.
His bank lends primarily to small businesses, real estate development,
and commercial strip centers. "We very rarely lend to a start-up
or new business," says Ryan. "Seventy-five percent of business
loans are to all different segments of the local business community,
people who have been operating businesses 50 years or more."
Ryan was raised with his 11 siblings in Buffalo, New York, where his
father owned a business that made wallpaper and jukebox parts for
the Wurlitzer Corporation. Ryan went to Notre Dame, Class of 1967,
and spent three years on active duty in the army after ROTC. He worked
for Manufacturer’s Hanover in Buffalo for 14 years before seeking
out New York City banking experience. He became a commercial lender
with Marine Midland Bank in 1987, and joined Yardville in 1991 as
a senior loan officer, when the bank had only about $175 million in
assets. Today, it has 12 branches, 250 employees, and roughly $1.2
billion in assets.
Yardville lends to clients in both New Jersey and Bucks County. Ryan
stresses the importance of working closely with people to secure
loans.
"In commercial business lending, I try to tell everyone that
nothing
is black and white, everything is gray — keep the dialogue going,
continue to work with the people to get a deal at the end of the day
that’s win-win," he says. "What I try to teach my lenders
that the deal as it is presented may not be quite what both parties
are happy with, but if the lender takes the time to work with the
individuals in the company many times a satisfactory deal can be
made."
Ryan’s tips for lenders:
$100,000
and you approve $50,000," he says. "If you want to make a
loan, then make sure you’re lending them enough money to be
successful."
the lender. "If they need seven years to repay the loan, don’t
restructure it to be three years," he says. "You’re just going
to create a problem."
economic footing," he says, but he still has one thing on his
wish list: "I would look for some additional clean quality
commercial
businesses to employ more of our local residents."
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Plants Surprise
Scientists almost universally agree that humans breathe
in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide, and that plants take in
carbon dioxide and — using photosynthesis — make oxygen. They
also agree on most details of how photosynthesis works. But a Yale
professor due to speak at the Princeton chapter of the American
Chemical
Society has come to a different conclusion.
Robert H. Crabtree
will discuss "How do Green Plants Oxidize Water to Molecular
Oxygen?
A Functional Model Reaction and a Proposed Mechanism for both Enzyme
and Model." The lecture is on Wednesday, January 26, at 8 p.m.
in the DuPont seminar room of Frick Chem Labs, Princeton University.
It is free, and is preceded by a 6 p.m. dinner at Prospect House that
costs $20. Call Denise D’Auria
"It is a controversial discovery," says Warren S.
Warren,
chair of the chapter and also on the faculty in the chemistry
department
at Princeton. "Crabtree actually has a proposed mechanism and
functional model that are different from conventional wisdom."
(Warren refers to http://www.junkscience.com, for detailed
explanations.)
"Photosynthetic oxygen evolution keeps the balance between animals
and plants and many scientists are investigating various pieces,"
says Warren. "This scientist is identifying an intermediate
species,
the manganese ions that are commonly exploited in photosynthesis.
Because plants are efficient at converting solar energy into something
useful, this discovery may have implications for such systems as fuel
cells."
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Money Mega-Marts
Last year was pivotal for the banking industry. In
November President Clinton signed into law the Gramm-Leach-Bliley
act, a law that essentially dissolves the separation of banks,
securities
institutions, and insurance. As a result, consumers will soon see
financial services mega-marts, says Dennis Casale
at Jamieson, Moore, Peskin & Spicer at 300 Alexander Park. "What
you’re going to be seeing is a lot of financial Wal-Marts and Home
Depots being created," says Casale. "Soon you’ll see financial
services companies that can offer one-stop shopping for banking,
insurance,
and securities."
Already the market is shifting, says Casale. "In some respects,
the act was a response to things that are already happening in the
marketplace," says Casale. "For example Travelers and Citibank
got together in anticipation that this act would pass. We are seeing
mergers and other types of affiliations between companies so that
they can offer consumers different choices. There are a number already
all poised to provide services both locally and nationwide."
Casale speaks at a seminar on Gramm-Leach-Bliley, sponsored by the
New Jersey Bankers Association, on Tuesday, January 25, at 8:30 a.m
at Forsgate Country Club. Call 609-924-5550. Cost: $95. The NJBA
seminar
covers how Gramm-Leach affects insurance underwriting and sales,
customer’s
information and privacy rights, reorganization of federal regulatory
authority over financial services, bank securities activities and
sales, ATM fees, and new community reinvestment act concerns. Other
NJBA speakers: Robert A. Schwartz
Spicer PC; Jonathan P. Gabriel
M. Connor, partner, and
Smith Shaw and McClay LLP.
Gramm-Leach rebuilds the bridges among banks, securities firms and
insurance companies that were demolished by the Glass-Steagall Act
in 1933, and invents two new entities: the "financial holding
company," an alternative to the traditional bank holding company,
and the national bank "financial subsidiary," a company having
powers beyond those of traditional operating subsidiaries.
This has implications for both national banks and small community
banks, says Casale, a graduate of Montclair State, Class of 1975.
"For example, there are provisions in this act that allow smaller
institutions to enter into joint marketing situations so they can
compete with larger institutions," he says. "A small community
bank could affiliate or jointly market with an insurance agent, for
example."
However, state-chartered banks will not be able to take advantage
of all the provisions in Gramm-Leach, says Casale. "The NJBA wants
to introduce amendments that will close those gaps wherever they
exist,"
says Casale, "but the act is so new that I think that institutions
will benefit from hearing some of the particular provisions."
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Fundraising Culture
Does it take something special to raise money —
something different from the skills used to make money? Jane A.
Silverman, executive director of the Association of Junior Leagues
International, addresses that issue at the Women in Development
meeting
on Thursday, January 27, at 8 a.m., at the Hun School. Her subject:
"Changing the Culture of Your Organization to Support
Fundraising."
A Princeton native, Silverman went to Miss Fine’s School, majored
in Russian history and literature at Radcliffe (class of ’67), and
has a master’s in city planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
After being a city planner, she found herself working as a director
of training for banks, but she left the corporate banking world to
start a business in her basement in the 1984.
Silverman presided over that company, Training Management Corporation,
as it grew into a $1.5 million international full-service training
consulting firm with a blue chip client list that included AT&T,
Merck,
Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton University, American Express, Glaxo,
and others.
Silverman, who is also a trustee for Radcliffe, Princeton Day School,
and a secretary of the boards for the Princeton Area Community
Foundation,
will talk with members of Women in Development about the challenges
of fundraising in a dues-based organization.
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Airport Summit
People who live near the Trenton Mercer Airport can
get the latest environmental reports, collected by the County and
the Federal Aviation Administration, at a Public Information Center
on Thursday, January 20, at 4:30 p.m. at 1625 Quarry Road in Yardley.
Information booths will address noise monitoring, noise and air
quality
analysis, forecasting, alternatives, environmental assessment process,
and environmental resources and regulations. Graphics and handouts
will be available. Call 609-882-1601.
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Managed Care: FAQs
Direct your managed health care questions to "To
Your Health," a toll-free hotline for people enrolled in
commercial,
Medicaid or Medicare managed care plans. The hotline is a project
of the Community Health Law Project, a statewide public interest law
firm that received support from the Healthcare Foundation of New
Jersey,
Schering-Plough Foundation, Hoffman-La Roche, Grotta Foundation for
Senior Care, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, and the State of
New Jersey.
A free "Guide to New Jersey Consumer Rights in Managed Care"
is also available by calling the hotline at 888-838-3180. For more
information, contact 973-275-1175.
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Volunteer Training
<B>Marge Smith, former executive director of the
YWCA of Princeton and a consultant to nonprofits for 20 years, is
leading a group of volunteers staging an evening workshop,
"Community
Works: Workshops for Volunteer Development," on Thursday, January
27, from 5 to 9:15 p.m. at the Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson
School. Sponsored by Rotary Club of Princeton, it costs $22 including
a box supper. Networking begins the evening and, some say, is one
of the most valuable sessions.
After listening to the keynote speech, participants can attend two
workshops. The choices include using the Internet for your non-profit
organization, managing conflict, asking for money, public speaking,
building an active board, fundraising, accessing foundations and
corporations
for funding, nuts and bolts of a press release, marketing your image,
motivating volunteers, and collaborative projects. Those who register
early get first priority on their choices. Call 609-924-8652 for a
registration form.
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Call for Entries
The New Jersey Apartment Association is accepting nominations for
its Seventh Annual Garden State "Visions of Excellence"
awards,
which recognize outstanding individuals, properties, and services
throughout the state. Categories included Regional Manager of the
Year, Property Manager of the Year, as well as Best Website, Marketing
Plan, and Property Renovation. Submissions are due by February 23.
Management companies must pay a $100 fee for the first entry, $50
for each additional entry. Call 732-247-6661 or visit
the admirable volunteer accomplishments of a group or individual,
are being accepted. Volunteer service in the following categories
is recognized: arts, seniors, youth, education, the environment,
health,
human needs, long term service, and mobilization of volunteers. The
deadline is February 18. To receive a nomination packet, call
609-984-3470.
companies,
agencies and individuals to submit their best work for the 2000 Impact
Awards. Creative work may be submitted from numerous categories,
including
print advertising, public relations, direct mail, brochures, annual
reports, audio-visual presentations, broadcast advertising and
computer-based
interactive media. All work must have been produced and used during
1999. Entries must be postmarked February 4. Call 732-417-5601 for
an application.
a Career Development award from the Business & Professional Women
(BPW) of Hightstown/East Windsor. The awards are given to women 25
years of age or older who are continuing or returning to school —
a college or vocational training program. Apply by February 28. Call
609-448-5599 for an application.
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Corporate Angels
an office at 989 Lenox Drive, made a generous donation to the Trenton
Area Soup Kitchen, which provides meals to the inner city resident
of Trenton. Call 609-695-5456.
road-based
Regional Planning Partnership $5,000 to buy a computer projector so
that it can demonstrate its new computer model for master plan
decisions.
Still needed is a laptop computer to complete the setup. The
Partnership
has just analyzed the regions zoning and discovered that most of the
zoning in the three-county area needs to change.
Yvonne Alexander Spitznagel Theater, thanks to a $250,000 gift from
John Spitznagel
recently retired as president and CEO of Roberts Pharmaceutical, a
16-year-old biotech company with 130 employees based in Eatontown.
He is a Rider journalism graduate (Class of 1963) as was his late
wife (Class of 1964), and both were editors of the student newspaper
and wrote theater reviews. The gift will pay for a modern light board
and sound system, new seating and carpeting, enhanced stage curtains,
and a remodeled lobby.
grant from the Fannie Mae Foundation
supports national and local nonprofits committed to providing decent
and affordable housing. Call 609-392-5494.
Company
its corporate philanthropist of the year. U.S. Trust, a wealth
management
company that is responsible for more than $3 billion in assets, has
underwritten NJSO’s Amadeus circle for the past few years. Call
609-734-7755.
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Donations Please
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School is seeking donations for its
post-prom
event, a party to help keep students off the road and in a safe
environment
after the prom. Last year’s party cost over $20,000. To make a
tax-deductible
donation, call 609-799-4071.
Corrections or additions?
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— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
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