WW mayor hits the road to tout his township

State officials get tour and a pitch on town as business site.

By: Gwen Runkle
   WEST WINDSOR — In a continued effort to promote business in West Windsor, Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh showed various state agency representatives what the township has to offer in a tour of the municipality Wednesday.
   "To improve economic development, you don’t just need to talk with the business community," the mayor said. "You need cooperation from all levels of government as well.
   "We need to create partnerships with Transportation, Environmental Protection, Community Affairs, etc. to help our community grow," he continued.
   To start Wednesday, the group gathered at Mercer County Community College’s new conference center for a presentation on West Windsor’s past, present and future.
   Mayor Hsueh highlighted the township’s transition from a sleepy farming community into a bustling suburban hub — and the need now to encourage more commercial development and mixed-used growth to improve the township’s economic standing.
   "We need to balance out our boom in residential development with more commercial and mixed-use opportunities," he said. "The governor has also talked about New Jersey needing more technology centers. We have the resources to become such a center."
   After the presentation, the mayor and members of the state Department of Community Affairs, Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Protection, as well as members of Prosperity New Jersey and the New Jersey Commerce & Economic Growth Commission, boarded a bus for a tour of the township.
   The tour, led by Sam Surtees, township land-use director, pointed out areas of historical significance, land preserved as open space and sites that exemplify the township’s growth potential, such as the Route 1 properties of Sarnoff Corp. and Wyeth Inc.
   Sarnoff Corp. has general-development plan approval to build a 3 million-square-foot technology campus on its 250-acre property.
   Wyeth Inc., located on the old American Cyanamid property off Route 1 and Quakerbridge Road, is currently working with the Rouse Co., a leading development firm, to create a mixed-use plan for its 653-acre site.
   Mayor Hsueh also pointed out that Tyco International is expected to move its executive offices to the former Merrill Lynch office building, owned by SJP Properties, behind Carnegie Center on Roszel Road.
   "The deal is being finalized," the mayor said. "And we are very excited to have them moving into town."
   Overall, many of the state agency representatives in attendance Wednesday said they enjoyed the tour and looked forward to working with West Windsor in the future, particularly with the mayor’s newly formed Business Alliance.
   "In these tough economic times, partnerships are more important than ever," said Dale Caldwell, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs. "This kind of relationship that the mayor is creating in West Windsor doesn’t happen often enough. Business plays a key role in a community’s development, but so does government."
   Adam Pechter, chief operating officer of NJ Commerce and chief executive officer of Prosperity New Jersey, agreed.
   "If we can create a synergy between the municipality, business community and state, we can do more to leverage this area’s university and research and development infrastructure as economic engines for the state," he said.