Limo co. starts work on new office
FARRAH MAFFAI Robert Duffy, owner of Regal Limousine, Sayreville.
By jennifer dome
Staff Writer
SAYREVILLE — Robert Duffy surprised his bride-to-be with a special treat for their wedding 18 years ago.
Rather than rent a limousine to transport them on their special day, Duffy bought a limousine and started Regal Limousine, which would become a lucrative business that is now as old as their marriage.
Last week, the couple celebrated another milestone together, the groundbreaking ceremony at the company’s new site on the corner of Main Street and Kennedy Drive.
"I’m a local guy. I’m a small businessman," Duffy said.
However, since Duffy will soon become the owner of two new buildings in the borough, where he lives with his wife and three children, he may be outgrowing the title of "small businessman." Not only will the new site allow Duffy, who is 56, to double the size of his transportation fleet, but it will also permit him to explore new frontiers as a landlord, he said.
One of the buildings, which was approved by the borough Planning Board earlier this year, will include approximately 4,000 square feet of office space and a 12,000-square-foot garage for Regal Limousine. The other building will comprise 47,000 square feet, with 36,000 square feet available as rental space, Duffy said.
The office building will offer companies technology-ready services including cable wiring and fiber optics, as well as private satellite disc communication, Duffy said. The office building will include an atrium at its center, where a rock formation with waterfalls will be installed, he said.
"I’m trying to make it business-friendly," Duffy said.
The two buildings, which will sit on 5 acres along the borough’s Main Street Extension, will have parking spaces for 157 vehicles.
Duffy said he hopes that the new space for his business will lead to doubling the fleet of 20 vehicles he currently uses to transport corporate clients. Among those vehicles are four stretch limousines, two vans, one antique Rolls Royce and 13 sedans. Duffy said he is also hoping to expand the entertainment side of his transportation business, including among other things, trips to Manhattan, school proms and weddings.
Construction on the site was expected to begin this week and to be completed in May 2003, he said.