EDA votes to approve more than 27M in Grow NJ incentives

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The Economic Development Authority voted Tuesday to approve roughly $27.9 million in incentives for five projects under the state’s Grow NJ Assistance Program.According to the EDA, three of the five projects are located within targeted communities, which are municipalities that are designated as either distressed or located within an Urban Transit Hub or Garden State Growth Zone under the Economic Opportunity Act.

The EDA notes that to date, projects in these areas account for more than 80 percent of all tax credits approved under Grow NJ.

“The Economic Opportunity Act was designed to encourage growth in targeted communities, including transit hubs and municipalities that have long suffered from disinvestment,” EDA CEO Michele Brown said. “We are pleased the results to date illustrate that the Grow NJ program is working to effectively stimulate private investment and job creation in these communities.”

The largest of Tuesday’s approvals was a 10-year, $12.7 million award for Clifton-based graphic communication company Sandy Alexander, which is seeking to expand, either in Clifton or Orangeburg, New York. The proposed expansion project, which the state estimates would yield a net benefit of $92 million over 20 years, would lead to the retention of 216 jobs and the creation of 74 more.

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First Data Corporation, an Atlanta, Georgia-based global payment solutions company, was approved for a 10-year, $5.92 million award to relocate a current New York City-based operation to Jersey City instead of Atlanta. The project would create 74 jobs and offer a net benefit of $76.1 million to the state over a 20-year period, according to the EDA.

Other approved Grow NJ awards Tuesday:

Dicalite Management Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania-based producer of diatomaceous earth products, was approved for a 10-year, $3.78 million award to build a processing facility in Pennsauken rather than Lehighton, Pennsylvania. The EDA estimates the move would create 36 new jobs and have a net benefit to the state of $2.1 million over 20 years.

Festo Didactic Inc., a Hauppauge, New York-based industrial education equipment and solution provider, recently acquired and merged with Farmingdale-based Lab-Volt Systems and is seeking to relocate its combined headquarters to Hauppauge or Eatontown. The company was approved for a 10-year, $2.13 million award. If Eatontown is selected, the EDA estimates a net benefit to the state of $18.6 million over 20 years and the creation of 36 new jobs in addition to the retention of 50 positions.

J. Knipper and Company Inc., a Lakewood-based provider of healthcare marketing solutions, was approved for a 10-year, $3.33 million award to consolidate an existing Somerset-based operation with its recent acquisition of a Yardley, Pennsylvania-based sampling distribution business in Lawrenceville as opposed to Bensalem, Pennsylvania. According to the EDA, the project would retain 50 jobs in New Jersey and create another 86, carrying with it a $20.3 million net benefit to the state over 20 years.

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