by Jordan Schwartz
These might be difficult economic times, but no one told L. Robert Lieb and his tenants at Mountain Development Corp.
The Chair and CEO of the realty firm welcomed three new companies to the Mountain Technology Center at 100 Delawanna Ave. during a press conference on Dec. 17.
MDC bought the seven-story building in 2001, and with the addition of Telx, Automated Logic Corporation and EK Success, the former Givaudan headquarters, which is visible from Rt. 3 and just off Rt. 21, is now at full capacity.
MDC President Michael A. Seeve said the company purchased the building for three reasons: its proximity to a New Jersey Transit train stop, its excellent infrastructure with dense floors and high ceilings, and a love for investing in Passaic County.
“This region has real resilience and depth,” he said.
These are exactly the reasons why Automated Logic New York/New Jersey President Frank Del Vecchio decided to consolidate his two locations on Broad St. and in Lincoln Park into 100 Delawanna Ave.
“It’s a great centrally-located office for our clients and it provides our employees with a great commuting opportunity,” said the 1978 CHS grad, who added that seven of his employees are also alumni.
And new companies mean new jobs. Automated Logic and fellow Clifton company, EK Success, expect to relocate a total of about 200 workers to the Center.
Rose Kilmovich, Vice President of Product Development and Engineering for Telx, said the proximity to New York is a plus.
“We have two very large data centers there,” she said, “and there’s very good data center space on the second and third floors here.”
Telx is on a role. The interconnection company is picking up 24,000 sq. ft. of co-location space in order to offer customers the ability to connect to more than 400 firms all with just one point of connection between the networks.
This was the New York-based company’s fifth acquisition of 2008, totaling more than 70,000 square feet of new space and increasing the firm’s footprint by more than 20 percent. Telx plans to build out its space at the Center which should lead to the creation of a number of construction jobs.
PSE&G is working closely with the developer because data centers depend highly on electric service.
“We have a very reliable system so it’s a nice fit,” said William P. Steffens, Vice President of PSEG SiteFinders LLC. “The proximity to our network and another major data center in Nutley really helps.”
The utility will increase the amount of electricity brought into the building by 100 percent to power the servers, and the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems necessary to cool down the hardware.
The relocation of these three companies to the Mountain Technology Center is a step forward not only for Clifton, but for Passaic County and the entire state as well.
“It’s extremely important for the county,” said Deborah Hoffman, Director of the Passaic County Department of Economic Development. “Michael Seeve and his team have been working tirelessly to move companies in. These are very high-tech companies.”
The state now has six million square feet of data services and co-location space, with an investment of about $1,000 per square-foot to build.
“New Jersey is becoming business friendly,” said Caren S. Franzini, CEO of the NJ Economic Development Authority, adding that these three companies will bring 280 jobs to the Center.
But in the end, it’s really Clifton that benefits the most.
“It’s a nice Christmas present,” said Mayor James Anzaldi.
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