Advance Group to build three new spec office buildings.

The Advance Group has commenced construction on three new spec office buildings in Somerset and Mercer counties. The 20-year old, privately-held development company headquartered in Bedminster, NJ is one of the most active developers in the region. These three new developments are all expected to be completed in the first half of 2000.

The Advance Group has broken ground on a new 40,000 square-foot office building to be known as Advance at Metro III. Located in West Windsor, NJ, the new Glass A office building is situated at the intersection of Alexander Road and Vaughn Drive, near the Princeton Junction railroad station. The facility is expected to be completed by June 2000.

Bovis Construction Corporation has entered into a long-term lease agreement to occupy the entire second floor at Metro III comprising 20,000 square feet of space. The company is one of the largest international construction management firms in the world. Bovis, which has a strategic alliance with The Advance Group, will act as the construction manager for the project. The Garibaldi Group is the exclusive leasing agent for Metro III. Currently, the entire first floor is available for lease.

Metro III has been designed by the award-winning architectural firm, Rotwein & Blake of Florham Park. The two-story building will feature an all brick exterior, granite and paneled first and second floor lobbies with a dramatic atrium. Metro III will offer tenants an exercise room with lockers and showers, as well as other on-site services.

Located within walking distance to the Princeton Junction train station, which provides direct access to New York City, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, Metro III is two miles from Route 1, and three miles from the intersection of I-95. Sited near numerous restaurants, shopping malls and other suburban conveniences, Metro III offers a prestigious Princeton address for prospective tenants. Corporate neighbors include Dow Jones, FMS, Merrill Lynch, Raytheon, ETS and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The Advance Group has also broken ground on two new speculative office buildings to be known as Advance at Bedminster II. The two office buildings, totaling 73,000 square feet, are available for single or multi-tenancy and are scheduled to be completed by June 2000.

The two new buildings are part of a planned 105,000 square-foot office park. Another component includes a Phase I, newly renovated, fully leased, 15,500 square-foot existing building. Phase III will be known as Bedminster Village and will include three buildings, totaling 12,000 square feet, that will be available as professional office space.

Advance at Bedminster includes an on-site Bell Atlantic ECU Vault with access to all state-of-the-art telecommunications systems. Notable amenities also include dual sub-station electrical service, on-site conference facility, exercise room and an ability to provide 4/1,000 square-foot parking.

Located just minutes from 1-78 and just off of 1-287 on Routes 202 and 206, Advance at Bedminster is situated near such leading corporations as AT&T, Bell Atlantic Mobile, Lucent, Pharmacia Upjohn and Johnson & Johnson. Within a short drive is The Hills Shopping Center and the Bedminster and Far Hills centers, featuring a collection of neighborhood restaurants, banks and shopping venues, along with the Far Hills Railroad Station, with trains making direct connections to New York City. The site is also minutes from the Bridgewater Commons Mall.

Additionally, The Advance Group has recently broken ground on Advance at Bridgewater III, an 80,000 square-foot, three-story office building which is scheduled for completion in June 2000. The Advance Group, which finished the construction of an 84,000 square-foot Class A office building earlier this year at Advance at Bridge-water, fully leased that facility prior to construction being completed. Advance at Bridgewater II is occupied by Lucent Technologies, DSET and Ariba Technologies, Inc. In total, Advance at Bridge-water is a 310,000 s.f. office park which includes the headquarters of United National Bank. "The Advance Group is proud to be leading the way in constructing three quality office buildings to help meet the tremendous demand for new space in the market," said Frank Pratt, vice president of Marketing. "The Advance Group occupies a successful niche in building high-tech buildings that appeal to tenants seeking smaller space units with abundant common amenities and state-of-the-art features. This marketing strategy has proven effective in meeting the pent-up market demand for tenants seeking under 100,000 s.f., who demand a significant image and Class A amenities and are not attracted to large scale developments due to their lack of individuality."