Sayreville continues rebirth with Garden State Technology Center

Real Estate Weekly, Dec 6, 2000

Marking the evolution of the Sayreville, N.J. area from a manufacturing base to an information technology hub for the future, Borenstein & Company, a NYC-based developer, is converting the vacant former Sunshine Biscuit/Keebler Cookie factory in this suburban borough for high-tech use.

Insignia/ESG has been named exclusive leasing agent for the newly created Garden State Technology Center, a million square-foot high-tech incubator in Sayreville, NJ. The state-of-the-art facility will be ready for occupancy by year-end after a $15 million retrofit designed to meet the challenging needs of telecommunications and information technology companies.

Andrew Zezas, Robert Sager and Brian Cass of Insignia/ESG's New Jersey office, and Gary Kamenetsky, Stuart Eisenkraft and Robert Meyers of Insignia/ESG's New York office are the exclusive leasing agents for this magnificent new facility.

"The Garden State Technology Center offers reliably sourced, fully redundant and unlimited electric service and two fully diverse fiber optic communication rings with access to an unlimited pool of telecommunications carriers," said Mr. Zezas. "Tenants will have connectivity to all major telecommunications hubs in the Mid-Atlantic region. This building has been positioned to become the place of choice for data, communications and IT service industries as we enter the 21st Century."

Located at the former site of the Sunshine Biscuit/Keebler Cookie factory at 4000 Bordentown Avenue in Sayreville, the property has been vacant since the company relocated last year, taking with it 500 jobs. Today, through the visionary efforts of the developers and owners at Borenstein & Company, the Garden State Technology Center is positioned at the forefront of the ongoing transformation of Sayreville from a manufacturing to a technology-based economy.

"This is a tremendous day for our community. Today represents not only the opening of a new enterprise, it represents a new beginning for Sayreville," said Sayreville Mayor Kennedy O'Brien, who presided over the facility's grand re-opening ceremony. "While the sweet the air is no more, I am proud to tell you today that there is once again a sweet smell in the air -- it's the smell of success, the smell of victory, the smell of pride and accomplishment. And it is such a sweet smell indeed."

New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman recently selected the Garden State Technology Center as an example of the state's ongoing efforts to meet the needs of the burgeoning high-technology sector that is driving the new economy of the 21st Century. Calling it the "heart of the Internet base of this county," Gov. Whitman selected the occasion of the facility's completion to announce the first recipients of $2 million in grants aimed at creating new "cyber districts" in cities, downtowns and former industrial sites throughout the state. Sayreville was selected as one of 30 recipients of the newly created Cyber District grants, which range from $5,000 to $170,000, and are designed promote special districts where high-tech firms will be encouraged to locate.

Sayreville is well on the way to becoming one of the state's leading cyber districts with the unveiling of the Garden State Technology Center. The Center includes a remarkable 750,000 square feet of space on one floor, one of the largest contiguous single-floor spaces in the entire state, with a 1,600-foot straight run and 80-foot column spacing. The property also offers 220,000 square feet on the second floor and 30,000 square feet. on the third floor.