(American Optical Site)
Taken
from The Southbridge Evening News “Special DOD Supplement” dated Friday,
March 31, 2000:
Although
nearly all of what many people remember as the American Optical Company
had left Southbridge by 1992, Southbridge Associates Limited Partnership,
the real estate subsidiary of American Optical, still owns the facilities.AO
is now based in Greenwich, Conn.Much
of the 1.25-million-square-feet of office and manufacturing space has been
rented or leased to other firms.When
the former Main Plant is replaced in 2001 with a 204-room hotel, conference
center and U.S. Department of Defense offices, then most of the space in
the former AO complex will have been filled.
This
is a list of the companies and organizations renting or leasing space there
today:
•AO
Lens Co., Prosthetic Eye Center, SAIC Science Applications International
Corp., U.S. Defense
Department
Finance and Accounting Center all in the former Main Plant;
•Southbridge
Credit Union, China Imports storage; 14 Mechanic St.
•Franklin
Realty Advisors, Inc., Franklin Management Services, Industrial Vehicle
Maintenance, former
Building
5, 5 Optical Dr.
•Stonebridge
Press, Inc., printers of the Southbridge Evening News and other area newspapers;
25
Optical Dr.
•AO
Lens Co. distribution, AO Lens Co. receiving and shipping, Imperial Spring
Co., Inc., Spencer
Products,
Inc.; 15 Wells St.
•Aearo
Co. office and manufacturing and Aearo Vision Care; 35 Optical Dr.
•AOtec,
LLC offices and research and development; 40 Optical Dr.
•AO
Lens Co. ophthalmic sales and marketing, Wilden Machine Co., AO Eyewear/Sunwear
USA, Inc.,
and
the Center for Advanced Fiberoptic Applications; 50 Optical Dr.
•Southbridge
Power & Thermal, LLC; 60 Optical Dr.
•Aearo
Co. central receiving, 10 Cabot St.
•Aearo
Co. storage; 5 Wells St.
•AOtec,
LLC, ALSCO Industries, Inc., Aearo Co. offices, plastic molding, manufacturing
and
warehousing,
Spec-Elec Plating Corp.; 25 Case St.
•Center
of Hope (Noress Corp., N.E. Subcontractors Service); 5 Case St.