Research, Manufacturing Firm Eyes Newtown

By John Voket

It may possess an extremely generic sounding name, but if Newtown resident Dr William Joyce is successful in bringing his proposed company, AFS, to a now-vacant industrial space at 11 Edmond Road in Newtown, its arrival will have historic ramifications.

According to town officials, including First Selectman Pat Llodra, Economic Development Commissioner Robert Rau, Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker, and Assessor Chris Kelsey, AFS could become Newtown’s largest and most prestigious manufacturing entity, as well as one of the town’s top commercial taxpayers.

In addition, if the company can successfully occupy proposed industrial space in Newtown, AFS would immediately establish a base for product lines so cutting-edge that Dr Joyce said they would be sought by receptive consumers in both North American and international markets.

Perhaps the best news, according to Dr Joyce, is that he has already been told that numerous support services and commercial operations tied to aspects of support and distribution of the AFS product line would likely spring up in proximity to its proposed site off Edmond Road, bringing collateral developments, occupancy, and commercial tax base.

So, when can AFS move in?

Dr Joyce said there are still numerous local board and commission decisions that need to be finalized, related to the company’s needs, before he and other AFS principles make the final decision. The other point of issue is that AFS is being aggressively courted by economic development, county, and municipal officials in the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., area.

While New York State comes to the table armed with a level of economic incentives that neither Newtown nor the State of Connecticut can match, Dr Joyce admitted to The Bee this week that he would like to bring this commercial opportunity home.

“Even when I worked elsewhere, I always maintained a residence here,” Dr Joyce said. “And I’ve lived here for 30 years, which probably [affirms] I like it here.”

But he said it is up to the local boards and commissions, which he would depend on to permit AFS to “do what we need to do,” to bring the company headquarters to Newtown.

“Right now, we need a building that is a little taller than current zoning will allow,” he said. “And it would immediately rule Newtown out if we can’t [make building accommodations].”

High Tech Nucleus

Dr Joyce said whether it is to Newtown or Poughkeepsie, AFS would serve as a nucleus of high technology that would bring other support entities into the area. He said he is already actively engaged in conversations with “people who have already indicated they would move close by to help take our products to the next stage,” adding that at least one of those entities would market and deliver AFS products designed for military defense purposes.

According to documentation provided to The Bee by AFS, the company’s goal is to commercialize developed and patented technologies to address three underserved markets. The first would be development and distribution of a specialized switch that could protect and stabilize existing electrical grids against either an electromagnetic pulse, geomagnetic currents resulting from so-called “solar storms,” an aerial nuclear explosion or similar terrorist activities.

The second involves distribution of a highly specialized laser device that has applications in the fields of environmental remediation and sterilization. And the third is another application of microlaser technology that is unique to the enhanced production of microlithography equipment.

And while the product lines are certainly innovative, local officials are equally entranced by Dr Joyce’s proposal for an investment of $52 million in the facility, including more than $40 million in taxable equipment within its first three years of occupancy, and the prospect of attracting 300 or more highly skilled employees to the facility within five years.

“Jobs of this type would average salaries of $100,000 per year in salary, plus benefits,” the prospectus claims. The company also promises an infrastructure investment in the form of a new underground gas line, which would provide benefits to the surrounding area.

Ms Stocker said the prospect of welcoming AFS to Newtown is an “extremely positive development.”

“It’s an unusual opportunity for us since it is a very large space — to be able to find a single occupant that will improve the property and create jobs — there’s no better economic generator,” she said.

Mr Kelsey said from estimates provided by the company on projected improvements to the overall property and equipment that is expected to be installed, the company’s occupancy would generate around $500,000 in commercial tax return to the community, and eventually, AFS could return more than $700,000 at its operational capacity.

The first selectman said she remains hopeful that AFS will choose Newtown.

“We’re very interested in working with Dr Joyce and AFS to provide an appropriate home for their enterprise,” Mrs Llodra said. “This is also consistent with the goals of our Economic Development Commission, which has made attracting tenants to Newtown’s unoccupied industrial sites a top priority.”

The former tenant of the property, Pitney-Bowes, abandoned the facility when relocating and consolidating some local operations to Indiana in 2008.