Princeton Center: Connecticut Yankee Ingenuity in Action

The following article was supplied by Siemon. It is reposted here with permission.

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Once the heartbeat of Watertown’s textile industry, the Princeton Building has undergone a remarkable transformation from its origins as Princeton Knitting Mills into a thriving, modern business center.

Now known as the Princeton Center, this historic structure, originally tied to the production of the first high-nap imitation fur, has been reimagined as a 210,000 square foot hub for innovation and enterprise.

Thanks to a visionary redevelopment by the Siemon Family, the building now houses a diverse mix of professional offices, healthcare services, research labs, and warehouse, all supported by cutting-edge energy-efficient upgrades.

This evolution not only preserves a piece of Watertown’s industrial heritage but also breathes new life into the local economy, making the Princeton Building an example of adaptive reuse done right. 

Background

In the 1950s, the Princeton Knitting Mills was booming. They had a patented process for making synthetic animal furs that were a popular fashion style at the time.

Then textile giant Burlington Industries acquired Princeton Knitting Mills for their intellectual property and production technology but ultimately moved the operation out of Watertown to the Carolinas. 

In the 1950s, the Princeton Knitting Mills was booming.

Burlington then sold the building and its 37 acres to local businessmen Lou Lestori and Jack Errichetti. 

The new owners leased the space to Timex, who used the building to manufacture fuses and timers during the Vietnam War. 

After the war, Timex moved out, and the owners put the building up for sale. 

Transformation

At this time The Siemon Company had two separate manufacturing plants in Watertown, and the Princeton property was located between the two Siemon factories.

Siemon needed room for expansion and was considering building a new factory in a nearby industrial park.

After weighing the pros and cons, they purchases the Princeton property instead, which unified their other properties and provided plenty of space for expansion. 

When Siemon acquired Princeton, the building had been empty for several years and was neglected. 

When Siemon acquired Princeton, the building had been empty for several years.

There were leaking roofs, broken windows, and it had an ecosystem of raccoons, pigeons and other wildlife. It was community eyesore and liability.

Then the transformation began. 
 
The roofs and windows were replaced, the outbuildings and the boiler house were demolished, new electrical systems and HVAC systems were installed.

Siemon moved its electronics assembly operation into the building, but most of the building was still vacant so Siemon converted a section of the third floor into Class A office space for its  headquarters and used these new offices as a model to attract new tenants.

Improvements

The strategy worked and Scovill Manufacturing became the first anchor tenant, leasing 25,000 square feet of office space.

Renovations and improvements continued for years, including the addition of 600-space parking lots designed with ornamental landscaping and outdoor picnic areas.  

The main lobby was cored out to create a three-story skylit atrium and a covered pedestrian bridge was built across Steele Brook to the main entrance. 

Maple hardwood flooring was refinished, and paint was sandblasted to expose original brick walls. 

The building was transformed from an eyesore into a dynamic business community and a tax paying asset.

AT&T and T-Mobile installed cellular antennas on the Princeton smokestack, providing excellent local cell coverage.

Common area amenities include a 3,000 square foot state-of-the-art fitness center, cafeterias, conference rooms, high definition security cameras, LED lighting and ethernet cabling connections throughout, a smart building automation system with HVAC and lighting controls, an on-premises restaurant, and a child day care center located across the street.  

The Princeton Building was transformed from an eyesore and liability into a dynamic business community and a tax paying asset.

Imagination, capital investment, and Yankee ingenuity made it happen.