But company isn’t saying where it will go
By:Lea Kahn
Will they or won’t they? Only RCN Corp. officials know for sure if the company is moving to Lawrence Township, and they aren’t telling.
Lawrence is one of three towns under consideration for the relocation of the telecommunication company’s corporate headquarters, but RCN spokeswoman Liz Thomas would not say whether the township has been given the nod.
“There is nothing new to say. I am waiting for a date and a time to hold a news conference (to announce the decision). We have made a decision, but I can’t tell you,” Ms. Thomas said.
If Lawrence Township has been chosen over West Windsor Township and Ewing Township, RCN will move its corporate headquarters into a newly approved office park on Princeton Pike. The Lawrence Township site is further along in the approval process than the other sites, Ms. Thomas said.
The Matrix Development Corp. was granted preliminary approval for a proposed 1.5 million-square-foot office complex on the former Union Camp property on Princeton Pike at Lewisville Road last month. Matrix would lease the office park to RCN.
The 134-acre Lawrence tract includes the 55-acre former Union Camp property, plus a 79-acre lot owned by Princeton Pike Park Inc. The parcel is bordered by Princeton Pike, Lewisville Road, Franklin Corner Road and Interstate Highway 95.
The Union Camp building will be demolished. Access to the office park will be off Princeton Pike, between Lenox Drive and Lewisville Road. A traffic light will be installed. An emergency access will be provided on Lewisville Road.
The Planning Board attached several conditions to its preliminary site plan approval. The conditions included preservation of the 255-year-old Brearley Oak in front of the former Union Camp building, and the stipulation that the office park will be occupied exclusively by one user.
If the office park plans go through, the development will be built in two phases. The first phase will consist of 560,000 square feet of office space, divided among four buildings. Four parking garages will be built.
The second phase will consist of 960,000 square feet of office space, plus parking garages. A second entrance, off Franklin Corner Road, will be built near the I-95 overpass.
In Ewing, RCN is considering a parcel of land near the I-95 interchange with Route 31 known as the Atchley tract. The company also is considering building another office structure at its current Carnegie Center home in West Windsor.