McManimon & Scotland L.L.C. Closes One of the State’s First Recovery Zone Facility Bond Transactions, Bringing Hundreds of Jobs to Sussex County

On October 28, 2010, McManimon & Scotland, L.L.C. closed $6,175,000 Recovery Zone Facility Bonds, issued by the Town of Newton, believed to be the first transaction of its kind in the State of New Jersey. The culmination of years of partnership and planning between the Town and international research and development and manufacturing company Thorlabs, Inc., this bond issuance has allowed Thorlabs to break ground on a new global headquarters to accommodate the laser and photonics firm’s rapid expansion.

As a result of this financing, a five-and-a-half acre site that needed environmental remediation and had remained vacant for nearly two decades will now host a state-of-the-art research and development and manufacturing facility. Construction has already begun on the first phase, which will encompass approximately 123,000 square feet. Located adjacent to the Town’s historic downtown and business district, the site is perfectly positioned to support downtown retailers and eateries, and to allow for local workers to bike or walk to work. It is estimated that the facility, together with any expansion phases to come, will ultimately support approximately 450 jobs, ranging from product assemblers to Ph.D. researchers. In addition to the environmental remediation of the site, the facility has been designed to incorporate green features, highlighting the commitment of the Town and Thorlabs to sustainability and environmental awareness.

McManimon & Scotland, L.L.C. is proud to have been a part of all phases of this transaction. Acting as redevelopment counsel to the Town, the firm assisted in the development of a redevelopment plan for the project site, the negotiation of a redevelopment agreement, and the structuring of an overall financial plan that included $6,175,000 Recovery Zone Facility Bonds, $4,350,000 Redevelopment Area Bonds, a payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreement and private investment. In its role as the Town’s bond counsel, the firm assisted the Town in obtaining volume cap allocation for the transaction from the County of Sussex and financing approvals from the State’s Local Finance Board, preparing marketing documents for the Redevelopment Area Bond transaction, and obtaining the best possible financial result for the Town with respect to both the $6,175,000 Recovery Zone Facility Bonds, which were privately placed, and the $4,350,000 Redevelopment Area Bonds, which were sold at electronic auction.

For more information on the project, please visit the Town of Newton’s website at www.newtontownhall.com, or Thorlabs’ site at www.thorlabs.com.

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