How a renovation created a ‘world class facility,’ helping a Centre County company grow

A newly renovated office building is now open in College Township, housing two local companies with space to accommodate several more.

Washington Centre, located at 366 Walker Drive, State College, is the new home of Sensor Networks and the Torron Group, which also manages the property. Those organizations came together and bought the building in April to remodel. Along the way, they received support from College Township, Centre County Commissioners, Kish Bank and the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County.

Sensor Networks Inc., which announced plans to double its workforce and move from its Boalsburg location in November, has already added new employees and equipment to its office space, said President Jeff Anderson. At over 50 employees right now, the company wants to expand to 125.

At the old location, the employees were in separate suites and were quickly outgrowing the space, he said. “We work very collaboratively, very closely together ... and then we were out of space. So we literally bought more equipment even before we moved in here and had it shipped here.”

With a second CNC (computer numerical control) lathe machine made possible by a $122,000 investment package from the Centre County Economic Development Partnership, Sensor Networks plans to add a second shift.

Previously the headquarters of Omega Bank about 30 years ago, then the corporate offices of RexEnergy, Washington Centre boasts three floors of office space with a total of 45,000 square feet and 22,000 square feet currently for lease. It is located off the Mount Nittany Expressway, with access to Interstate 99 and Interstate 80.

“The building’s in a good location, it’s been very well maintained over its life,” said Tom “Tommy” Songer III, partner at BHGRE/GSA Realty, which represented the Washington Centre partners in their purchase.

Sensor Networks occupies about half the building, and the Torron Group occupies another 1,000 square feet, he said. In remodeling the building, he said, crews from Veronisi Building and Remodeling, relandscaped outdoor spaces, converted lighting to LED and sensor, upgraded the HVAC system and made the building more ADA accessible. Over the next several months, crews will be making upgrades to all the third floor common spaces, said Songer.

In addition to the current tenants, he said, the building could fit around five or six new tenants depending on their office space needs.

Washington Centre, spearheaded by managing partner Thomas Songer II, owner of the Torron Group, is the first in a series of office buildings meant to attract new business talent to the area. Lincoln Centre — named for the 16th president and Songer’s second favorite after George Washington — is his next proposed building, envisioned in the space right next to Washington Centre. With 49,000 square feet of space, it would have two floors and completion is targeted for the end of 2020.

Anderson said Sensor Networks is thriving in the new space, where it’s been since early August. The company produces ultrasonic sensors that can be used to inspect a variety of industrial assets, from oil and gas pipelines to the turbine blades of a jet engine, and has six patents pending.

In the new space, Sensor Networks has engineers’ offices lining the walls, assembly workspaces in the middle of the room and a machine shop with two CNC machines that produce sensors and ultrasonic transducers. Most of the company’s work is engineering, design, assembly and machining of “very precise” parts, said Anderson. A conference room and executive and marketing offices are located on the second floor of the building, he said.

The new office’s proximity to Penn State and State College is also a draw, he said, because the company recruits graduates from the university, offers internships and often brings visitors from large companies like Boeing.

“It’s a world class facility, to bring people in here and show them what we can do,” he said.