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By Bari Faye Siegel Photograph Courtesy Beckerman Public Relations; Roy Gumpel
Tucker Development Corporation’s Liberty Plaza, the first Class A, mixed-use development in downtown Newark in more than 15 years, is celebrating its status as one of the first pre-approved sites for the New Jersey Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit program.
With the designation in place, Liberty Plaza can boast to potential tenants that they will garner in excess of $100 million in tax credits over 10 years, if they relocate more than 250 employees there.
“The Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit is the most aggressive tenant incentive package ever introduced in New Jersey, and Liberty Plaza has already gone through the formal application process to be pre-approved for qualifying tenants to receive these extraordinary financial benefits,” says Tim Lizura, senior vice president of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA).
The purpose of the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program is to encourage business development and capital investment that will help attract and retain jobs in some of New Jersey’s key urban centers near transit locations. It’s an exciting addition to the financial tools that support smart growth redevelopment and urban revitalization in the state.
To be eligible, projects must be located within one-half mile of New Jersey Transit, Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) or Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) stations in the urban municipalities of Camden, East Orange, Elizabeth, Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, Paterson, and Trenton.
Businesses must make a minimum $75-million capital investment in a single business facility where no fewer than 250 employees work full-time. Tenants may also qualify if they occupy space that represents at least $25 million of the capital investment in the facility and employ at least 250 full-time workers at that location.
Case in Point
Verizon was the first company to make use of the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit, according to Rich Young, spokesman for the telecommunications company. Verizon had announced it would consolidate its call centers and was considered moving out of the state, but in the end, the tax credit kept the company in Newark.
“We were courted by many developers because this call center is a good, clean ratable,” he says, noting the tax credit was a “proactive tool used by the state to keep Verizon in Newark.
“The state is trying to focus and keep jobs in urban areas, where transportation infrastructure is already in place,” Young adds. “This program is keeping employees out of their cars, helping the environment, saving energy, and reducing commutation costs.”
Verizon’s call center is located at 540 Broad Street in Newark, where the company is leasing eight floors (140,000 square feet). The remaining portion of the 420,000 square-foot building (another 12 floors) will be made available for Class A office space.
Caren Franzini, chief executive officer of the NJEDA, says, “This program was developed by Gov. Jon S. Corzine to attract and retain businesses to locate around key urban transit hubs in the state, to enhance the investments in our urban communities, and encourage the use of mass transit to reduce people traveling in cars.
“We are so pleased that one of the nation’s leaders in telecommunications, Verizon, decided to stay and expand in the City of Newark,” Franzini says. “Their commitment sends a strong message to the business community that cities like Newark are great places to do business and attract talent to work and live in the city.”
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