Plans for American Water Works Co. Inc.’s new headquarters in Camden are shifting to the city’s waterfront, where a developer has been planning a $1 billion mixed-use complex that would boast a roster of other major South Jersey companies.The publicly traded water utility, currently based in Voorhees, announced Thursday that the move would consolidate roughly 600 employees from the area into the 222,376-square-foot facility. With Liberty Property Trust overseeing the development, the project is slated to break ground this fall at One Water Street and be complete by the second half of 2018.
The news marks a shift from an earlier proposal calling for American Water to build a headquarters within Camden’s Gateway District, an area that sits about a mile inland, near Campbell Soup Co.’s world headquarters. On Thursday, the state Economic Development Authority approved the location change in the 10-year, $164 million Grow New Jersey tax credit it had awarded to American Water last year as an incentive to build the new headquarters.
The EDA also granted an extension of American Water’s deadline to complete the project.
“We are very excited with the opportunity to build our new headquarters on the Camden Waterfront,” American Water CEO and President Susan Story said in a prepared statement. “The waterfront location and the business community that is being created here offers great benefits to our employees and allows us to become a more significant part of a community where we are proud to provide water and wastewater services.”
In a news release Thursday, American Water said its new office will consolidate personnel from corporate functions, shared services and market-based businesses currently located in five of the company’s leased southern New Jersey facilities. The building will sit between the Ben Franklin Bridge and Campbell’s Field to the north and Adventure Aquarium to the south.
It also will be part of the sprawling mixed-use complex planned by Liberty Property, which calls for 1.5 million square feet of office space, along with a hotel, retail and residential component. Robert A.M. Stern Architects is the architect for the new headquarters building, while American Water has contracted with Gensler for the interior design of the building.
“American Water’s commitment to building a future in Camden is an important step in the realization of the Camden Waterfront development,” said Liberty Property Trust Chairman, CEO and President William Hankowsky. “We look forward to creating an inspiring corporate home for American Water and others in a resurgent Camden.”
The utility’s Grow New Jersey award was modified during the EDA’s monthly board meeting, which was held in Camden. The city has been the site of several high-profile development projects boosted by lucrative state incentives in recent years, including Holtec International’s new $260 million manufacturing facility, the Philadelphia 76ers’ new headquarters and practice complex and Subaru of America’s new headquarters in the Gateway district.
“Our City is truly fortunate to have yet another outstanding corporate partner to call Camden home,” Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd said in a separate statement. “American Water is dedicated to improving the lives of our residents and has already demonstrated their commitment by volunteering in various community events throughout the City.”
