EDA offers 34.6M incentive package to lure online grocer

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Online grocery seller Peapod would locate in Jersey City under a $34.6 million incentive approved by the state Economic Development Authority today.

Online grocery seller Peapod would locate in Jersey City under a $34.6 million incentive approved by the state Economic Development Authority today.

A subsidiary of Ahold USA Inc. is considering leasing 344,000 square feet in an 878,000-square-foot distribution center to be owned by Prologis. The facility would serve Peapod, another Ahold USA subsidiary.

“We’re bringing a lot of jobs to New Jersey” if the project is completed, said agency CEO Caren S. Franzini.

Ahold USA, a subsidiary of a Dutch retail giant, would receive $3.46 million in Urban Transit Hub tax credits annually for 10 years if it adds 380 jobs to the 120 the company currently has in the state. The credits would only be given if the project is completed and the company maintains the employment level.

While the total project cost is projected to be $94.3 million, the value of the tax credit was reduced because the jobs at the distribution center would be relatively low paying, Franzini said. In addition, only 90 of the 120 jobs currently in the state were considered to be at risk if the project isn’t completed. However, the incentive also received a 25 percent bonus for several reasons — including being located in a so-called “food desert” close to the port.

Ahold also is considering a site in West Nyack, N.Y., for the new facility.

The vote raised the total value of Urban Transit Hub tax credits approved by the board to $979.6 million, including $731 million for commercial projects and $248.6 million for residential projects.

In other action, the EDA board approved a $25.5 million Grow New Jersey incentive to Soundview Paper LLC, which bought Elmwood Park-based tissue maker Marcal Paper Mills in April. The incentive was awarded with the goal of keeping 509 jobs in the state, rather than moved to South Carolina.

Soundview Paper, an affiliate of Greenwich, Conn.,-based private equity firm Atlas Holdings, would invest $47.4 million in the current facility. Franzini said the company generally holds onto the businesses it buys.

Soundview Paper CEO George Wurtz issued a statement thanking the board for the approval.

“New Jersey has committed to us, and we are committing to New Jersey,” Wurtz said. “We have broad aspirations to build on the quality of our people, our equipment, our paper-making skills and core brand, Marcal.”

EDA has committed $135.8 million of the $200 million available for the Grow New Jersey program, which targets a broader range of projects than the transit hub program.

The board also approved a $3.37 million Economic Redevelopment and Growth grant for Lacey Plaza, an 82,000-square-foot shopping center planned for Route 9, in Lacey. The shopping center is owned by Doherty Enterprises Inc., which operates Applebee’s and Panera Bread Bakery Cafés, and Benderson Development Co. partner Stuart Wainberg.

It is the second ERG approved a project involving Benderson this year. The Florida-based company also received an ERG for the Gravelly Run Square shopping center planned for Egg Harbor Township.

ERG grants allow projects to be financed based on the anticipated tax revenue to be generated by the project. It is also known as tax increment financing.

The board also approved the monthly slate of Business Employment Incentive Program and Business Retention & Relocation Assistance Grant program incentives.

Education content distributor Achieve 3000 Inc. received a $511,000 BEIP to add 25 jobs and a $180,000 BRRAG to retain 80 jobs in Lakewood; cancer treatment maker Dendreon Corp. received a $4.25 million BEIP to relocate 85 jobs from Seattle to Bridgewater; home furnishings maker Ginsey Industries Inc. received a $162,000 BRRAG to retain 72 jobs currently in Bellmawr and West Deptford, relocating them to Logan; shipping repair provider Goltens-New York Corp. received a $198,000 BEIP to relocate 30 jobs from Brooklyn, N.Y., to a New Jersey site to be determined; and Swiss pharmaceutical product supplier Lonza Group Ltd. received a $692,000 BEIP to move 40 jobs from Norwalk, Conn., and a $333,000 BRRAG to keep 148 jobs in Allendale.