A banquet and conference center set to open next summer offers loads of meeting space in a resort-like setting.
By: Aleen Crispino
You are a meeting planner choosing the site of your group’s annual conference. Names of beach and ski resorts spring to mind, but you are told to keep within a budget to keep it local.
You are determined not to sacrifice comfort and service for the bottom line.
You are just the potential client Elliot Decker wants to invite to The Palace at Somerset Park, a new event and conference center set to open in Somerset in summer 2005.
"For the past couple of years we have held focus groups with meeting planners," said Mr. Decker, president of The Palace. They advised his team on every aspect of the interior design, from "the size of meeting rooms to the most-requested audiovisual equipment," he said.
At a press conference on June 17, the $30 million project, now under construction by J.G. Petrucci Co. of Asbury, was officially unveiled. A former event planner in New York City and founder and chairman of Fall Ball/Redd Ball, a fund-raising series, Mr. Decker is the principal developer, along with a group of private investors, according to a spokesperson.
Though The Palace is located only a mile from Route 287 on Davidson Road, guests will access the building from a private bridge past mature trees and landscaped gardens located on the 30-acre property.
The outside of the structure is already in place as construction continues on the interior. It has been designed by Hillsborough firm Cerminara Architects in the style of Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, with 25-foot ceilings and grand staircases and balconies.
The first floor will be used for weddings and other social events, while the second floor will house the conference facilities, including over 15,000 square feet of meeting space.
The Princeton area already supports several conference centers, such as the Doral Forrestal Conference Center and Spa, the Merrill Lynch Conference Center in Plainsboro and the Chauncey Conference Center on the Educational Testing Service campus.
"I’m really impressed by the variety of meeting space we have in this area," said Kristin Appleget, president of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce. "There’s a wide selection of venues in the Princeton area for meetings of five to 10 people up to conferences of 300 or more."
There has been a trend during the past two to three years, for economic reasons, for larger and mid-sized companies to move their conferences from vacation spots in California, Colorado and Florida closer to home, Ms. Appleget said. This enables them to save the cost of flying staff members to these destinations, she said.
Ms. Appleget added that there are also conference rooms at the Princeton Hyatt, The Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village and the Nassau Inn in Palmer Square, as well as the New Jersey Hospital Association on Alexander Road and at Mercer County Community College.
Whether Princeton-area businesses will hold their meetings at a new venue like The Palace at Somerset Park will "depend on the amenities offered," Ms. Appleget said.
Mr. Decker described three areas in which The Palace at Somerset Park will make a unique contribution to fulfilling the needs of local meeting planners.
The first and most important of these, he said, is the "cutting edge" technology that will be built into the design of the meeting space. For example, it is much easier to design a new building for wireless Internet access than it is to "hardwire" an existing conference center, Mr. Decker said. He noted that The Palace at Somerset Park will enable wireless communications for groups who may either lease computers at the conference center or bring their own.
"Corporations will like that," he said.
The Palace will also be on the cutting edge of security technology, Mr. Decker said, in areas ranging from "gated access, the highest level of camera security, and how information is managed."
"A close second and third are our 9,000 square feet of kitchen space, under the direction of a five-star chef from the Culinary Institute of America, and the service we will provide," Mr. Decker said. He added that they asked focus groups such questions as "How large do you want the breakout rooms to be?" and "What kind of furnishings would you like to see?"
"They asked us to build offices into the conference center," said Mr. Decker. Meeting planners expressed the need for a private space to conduct their business by telephone and the use of computers during the conference, he said.
The Palace will not provide rooms for overnight stay, confirmed Director of Corporate Sales Kaaren Hamilton. It has, however formed strategic partnerships with three hotels within a mile radius to offer rooms to conference attendees at group rates. These hotels are The Bridgewater Marriott, The Somerset Marriott and The Somerset Doubletree, Ms. Hamilton said.
This concept, referred to by Ms. Hamilton as "day conference centers," does not limit The Palace to only hosting conferences of short duration.
"We will be home to long-term training programs" as well as conferences, Ms. Hamilton said.
Ed Weiss, the director of sales and marketing at Educational Testing Service’s Chauncey Conference Center, welcomes the arrival of another, possibly competing, venue in the area.
"Princeton is a thriving area," said Mr. Weiss, "and there is an awful lot of opportunity. I think Princeton probably could support another conference center."
He spoke favorably of the day conference center concept. "Competition is inevitable when it comes to this business," he said. "That type of concept that provides meeting space without sleeping rooms will be a welcome addition to the Princeton area because it creates demand for other properties and hotels."
To schedule a tour of The Palace at Somerset Park, contact Kaaren Hamilton, Director of Corporate Sales at 1-877-PALACE4 or (732) 302-9922. For more information, visit their Web site at www.palace-park.com