E. Windsor growth taking off

Mercer Business, May 01, 1998

At first glance it looks like Fort San Felipe in Cartegena, Colombia, constructed over a 121 year period, starting in 1521, by the Spaniards to keep British privateers at bay. Its earth and grass covered sloping walls on three sides hides an elegant glass enclosed entrance facade facing away from the street.

East Windsor's unique township hall with its baroque exterior and barrel-vaulted interior ceiling was completed in 1982 and won an award for its architects, the Hilliar Group of Princeton. In a very real sense, it epitomizes the municipality it represents--forward looking, efficient, modern and ambitious.

Led by a thoroughly knowledgeable young mayor now in the third year of her second term, Janice Mironov, and assisted by an experienced business ombudsman and economic coordinator, Tom Ogren, the 15.6 square mile community-in-progress is located in the eastern section of Mercer County and is home to a population estimated to be about 25,000 and growing, almost on a daily basis.

Consider housing, an area of growth in East Windsor that may well eventually challenge the present school system of a Regional High School District, four elementary schools and a middle school, although there are no problems at this time.

Under construction or already completed are literally dozens of upscale new homes with state of the art features designed to appeal to up and coming young business people who want to raise a family in a community that offers all the amenities of an excellent geographical location that is rural, but still near enough to essential services to be practical.

Developments with typical English countryside names are booming in East Windsor: Sheffield Manor, Stratford Woods, Cranberry Estates, Windsor Farms, Brandywine, Stonegate, Yorkshire Estates and Berwick Manor are just some of the names of new housing sites under construction or completed.

Usually set on 1/2 acre lots, most of the homes sell in the $250,000 to $300,000 range and are taxed at a $3.17 per $100 of assessed value. All have city water and sewers, an advantage not always found in developments on what was once farmland or vacant fields.

According to Mayor Mironov, construction is pending on three more sites: The Grande, Windsor Crossing and Woodmont Park. She adds that several good tracts are still available for new home building.

The same three word axiom for successful housing construction applies to commercial structures as well: location, location, location.

By almost any yardstick, East Windsor is one of the more desirable business locations in Central New Jersey. About half way between the metropolises of New York and Philadelphia, the community is only 30 minutes from Newark's International Airport and Port Elizabeth. Frequent train service is just minutes away at Princeton Junction and the New Jersey Turnpike runs through the community and is accessed at Exit 8. A quality labor force provides a large supply of well educated people with diversified skills, and perhaps, most important of all, the municipality is "business friendly."

Minorov and Ogren are rightfully proud of recent successes in attracting both industrial and retail firms to put down roots in recent years, while many others are in the planning or actual production stages.

Town Center Plaza with its new 75,000 square foot Shoprite, 16 theatre movie complex and ten other stores including a popular TGIF Fridays tavern restaurant off Rt. 130 is drawing huge crowds.

There is a new Boston Market, a Wendy's, Black Forest II health food store, Jo-Jo's Steak House, a Taco Bell and KFC. East Windsor Flooring recently completed major renovation work and the Windsor Heights Shopping Center at the corner of Route 571 and 130 includes a Staples Office Supplies store and a Super Fresh Market which has expanded to 56,000 square feet.

Some 600 workers are expected to find jobs with the Japanese cosmetics giant, Shiseido Co., Ltd. when it completes its renovation and expansion of the old Carter Wallace plant on Rt. 571. The firm, which produces upscale skin care products, will occupy 800,000 square feet of space, nearly double that which was initially planned. Carter Wallace closed its operation in 1995.

Another personal care manufacturer, Conair Corp. will become the first global business to activate a foreign trade license. Conair, a leading international maker of hair dryers, employs 300 workers in East Windsor on Milford Rd., which will undergo major renovations this year to make it wider and safer for heavy duty truck traffic.

Other corporate and commercial successes in East Windsor include Rheox, K-III Communications, Roadway Packaging Service (RPS) which recently re-located from Ewing into a 75,000 square foot facility, BCM (door) Manufacturing, International Video, Prime Media Communications, which moved from Manhattan and the renowned Swiss firm, Gistbrozados, which makes savory ingredients in many flavors.

Of course, there have been some losses, too, most notably the closing of the Lockheed Martin Plant, the township's largest taxpayer and the P.A. Consulting firm which occupied the somewhat strange looking building off Rte. 571 with its trademarked outside orange cables.