We can't imagine that the Grow NJ tax incentive program was meant to be a job crusher for nearby suburbs. Let's review the effects.
Another commercial office tower to house white-collar employees is headed for Camden City, and that's good news. But a unique opportunity to see if such developments can thrive without substantial state handouts has been lost.
Last week, the state Economic Development Authority approved tax credits for an 18-story, $245 million tower to house three businesses. The most notable one -- Conner Strong & Buckelew -- will relocate from Evesham Township and Philadelphia. If the name's familiar, it's because this insurance brokerage is headed by South Jersey political power broker George Norcross III.
You can't throw a stone in any direction at Camden redevelopment without hitting some involvement by the former Camden County Democratic Party chairman. Also moving to Camden from Evesham is Holtec Corp., on whose board Norcross sits. He's also board chairman of Cooper University Hospital, a Camden-based nonprofit entity that has also received considerable state funds.
But in the most recent case, Norcross directly and boldly asked for -- and received -- tax credits on his company's projected investment of $86 million. The two other tower firms, logistics company NFI and The Michaels Organization, a real estate developer, would share the offices. Like Conner Strong, they received credits under the Grow NJ program, which is targeted to Camden and a few other cities.
Norcross' protege, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, was a key Grow NJ sponsor. So was Norcross' brother, U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, a former state lawmaker. That makes George Norcross' use of this program at least eyebrow-raising. Of more concern is that jobs will be once again be poached from a close-by suburb and deposited in Camden.
In 2014, Holtec snagged $260 million in Grow NJ credits, and will move 160 employees from its Burlington County site while adding up to 235 more at the new location. Conner Strong will have at least 253 jobs in Camden, according to its press release, which did not indicate how many of its estimated 400 current employees would be transferred.
These 10-year tax concessions for private Camden employers have reached well over $1 billion, with other large-scale relocations taking jobs from Cherry Hill (Subaru) and Voorhees (American Water Works).
As we've stated before, we can't fathom that Grow NJ was meant to be a job-crusher for the rest of our region.
We wish the EDA board would grow a spine and question these employment transfers before it rubber-stamps Grow NJ applications. The board surely could have used Norcross' direct involvement as a reason to pause to review the office tower application more thoroughly.
The left-leaning group New Jersey Policy Perspective has long questioned Grow NJ,claiming that incentives that developers can pocket (and deny to tax coffers) can exceed the taxpayer value of the jobs created. The group's spokesman also stated that projects like this office tower don't provide any jobs for Camden residents.
This view is a little short-sighted, since one hope is that once good jobs are located in Camden, people who hold them will start living in the city.
Nonetheless, Grow NJ's implementation versus its intent needs review. Since the EDA seemingly never met an application it didn't like, lawmakers should demand more justification before approving applicants who switch jobs from one South Jersey spot to another.
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