Kendall Park First Aid & Rescue Squad "Answer The Call"

After many years of need, two years of planning and 5 months of construction, the Kendall Park First Aid & Rescue Squad unveiled extensive renovations to its headquarters during a September 19, 2012 dedication ceremony. The facility, located on New Road in Kendall Park, is home to one of three first aid squads in South Brunswick. The squad has 45 volunteers and answers 1,800 calls a year, including three calls that happened during the dedication ceremony! 

Built in 1960, the two buildings that made up the squad became antiquated and  too small to meet their current needs. A garage that houses two of their four ambulances was expanded 12 feet to its rear and 4 feet in the front to accommodate for the larger ambulances. Renovations also included a new higher roof, new HVAC systems, new electrical systems including an emergency back-up generator, and new accessible toilet and shower facilities for the EMS crew. The larger space also includes a meeting room and a full-size sink for cleaning their equipment. 

The Kendall Park First Aid & Rescue Squad collaborated with Cornerstone Architectural Group, S&K Construction and Magyar Bank to complete the necessary additions, alterations and repairs. The three companies worked together with the squad to keep costs as low as possible. The organization is a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit and does not have a large amount of funds available. Michael Soriano, of Cornerstone helped design a solution to fully integrate the facilities into one cohesive unit. 

  

For more information on how to become a volunteer, or to donate, visit the squad's website at www.kpfars.org. 

Fun in the Sun

On the afternoon of Thursday, July 26th, Bob Barranger helped to coordinate and participated in the second annual Dairy Queen Miracle Treat day fund raiser to support The Children's Miracle Network. More than 100 classic show cars were on display at the event held at the Diary Queen on Fisher Boulevard in Toms River, NJ. Bob and his son Bobby drove their 1967 Shelby GT 350 and 1966 Mustang GT to the event for display and were on hand to answer questions about these rare beauties.

Face painting along with a magician and balloon artist helped the youngsters in the crowd celebrate the event. The children voted on their favorite classic cars, and trophies were awarded to their favorites. The Hawk 105.7 radio station was on site, broad casting live from the event. The event ran from early afternoon and into the evening hours. Through the volunteer efforts more than $2,500 in donations was raised to support the ongoing efforts of The Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

Designing for Expert Care, One Heart a Time AICD in New Providence

  

Cornerstone has again worked closely with Associates in Cardiovascular Disease to assist them with the interior design for the 1.2 million dollar fit-out of their newest 10,000 square foot cardiac testing and examination medical office in New Providence, NJ. AICD is one of the most comprehensive cardiology practices in New Jersey. In 2007, Cornerstone worked with AICD on the interior design alterations and expansion of their medical office located in Springfield, NJ.

Demolition within the existing facility is complete and the builder has now begun the new construction work.  The interior design features wood grain flooring and built-ins with a new super energy efficient lighting design and control system. The building mechanical systems are to be upgraded and significantly renovated to provide zoned and fully programmable comfort for the staff and patients. Becht Engineering BT of Point Pleasant Beach, NJ designed the HVAC system in coordination with Cornerstone.

The project is managed by Firm Associate, Marco T. Migliaro, Assoc. AIA, with supervision by Partner, Robert F. Barranger, AIA. Interior design and the selection of finish materials were coordinated by Erin Jimenez, IIDA.

"8701"

Previously, we announced that 2012 marks Cornerstone's 25th year in practice. One might say that we've had enough "practice" and that we should finally start getting down to "business"! In this blog post, titled "8701", we'd like to share an image of the rendering of Cornerstone's very first project. Job Number 8701, or "256 Hamilton Street" as we more aptly called it back then. It was, and still is today, a modest 2 story, 5,191 square foot Mixed Use Retail / Office building in Somerset, NJ. Our first client was H.O.B. Enterprises, and more important than that, was that the "H" and the "B" were our first accountant and our first attorney; Richard Heller and Hebert Bernstein. While no longer with us, we'd like to honor their memory and publically thank them 25 years later for helping the "Cornerstone Boys" get started, and for the faith and trust they put in us on their first development project also! While we went on to do many more projects that were much larger and more complex in nature over the ensuing two and a half decades, one can never forget their "First"! Thank You Dick & Herbie...

The South Brunswick Family YMCA Honors One of Our Own

On Friday, April 13, 2012, the South Brunswick Family YMCA hosted its 12th Annual Gala Dinner & Comedy Night at Pierre’s Restaurant. Along with the honoring of retiring Board President; Anthony Campisano, Cornerstone’s very own Michael Soriano was recognized and honored for his commitment, involvement and support of the South Brunswick Family YMCA and community.

Mike, a long-time South Brunswick resident, is the co-founder of Cornerstone Architectural Group of South Plainfield. Mike and CAG were hired by the Y in 2006 as their Architect to design the renovations to the 12,000 square foot Youth Complex. “After a thorough evaluation process, the Y selected Mike as our architect. He really ‘gets’ the Y mission having served on the Board of the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA as well as the YMCA of the USA's National Board,” said SB-F YMCA Executive Director Tom Libassi. “His work on behalf of our Y has been tremendous and his design of the Youth Complex clearly incorporated the needs of our diverse community.”

Mike Soriano is also well-known within in the South Brunswick High School band community, regularly supporting the band in various ways including his ‘expertise at grilling’ for their fund raising events.

Over 175 people attended the annual event, which helped to raise $20,000+ for the YMCA’s Annual Support Fund, which provides free and reduce fee memberships and program fees for kids, families and individuals in need of child care, after school care and other health and wellness programming.

The South Brunswick Family YMCA, located Monmouth Junction, has been serving the communities of Jamesburg, Monroe, Plainsboro and South Brunswick since 1996. The South Brunswick Family YMCA is a nonprofit values based, community-centered, membership organization dedicated to enriching the spirit, mind and body through quality programming and services; including child care, after school programming, sports, aquatics, health and fitness classes, family activities, senior programming, personal training and summer camp. Over the past 12 years, they have continued to grow and expand programs and today reaching a membership that exceeds 1,550 local families, seniors, teens, youth and adults with more than 2,500 people using the facility on a regular basis. “We’re for Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility”. More information may be found by visiting www.southbrunswickymca.org.