Mercedes confirms HQ moving from Montvale to Atlanta

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Mercedes-Benz USA on Tuesday announced that it will relocate its corporate headquarters from its 37-acre campus in Montvale to a temporary facility in Atlanta, where it will construct its new state-of-the-art headquarters in 2017.While the move will affect approximately 1,000 employees in New Jersey, several operational areas — including the company’s Parts Distribution Center and Regional Office — will remain in Montvale and Robbinsville.

RELATED: Is Mercedes planning to leave New Jersey?

The German luxury automaker plans to begin moving employees starting in July — despite keeping its Montvale-based employees in the dark regarding its relocation plans as of mid-December.

“For our employees, Atlanta offers a strong quality of life, terrific schools and wonderful cultural and recreational opportunities,” MBUSA CEO and President Stephen Cannon said in a prepared statement released on the same day the company held its annual president’s reception at the Park Ridge Marriott.

The statement attributed the move to MBUSA’s commitment to its desire to “strengthen the company’s position for long-term, sustainable growth.”

Cannon described Atlanta as a “premier city” that would place MBUSA closer to its growing Southeast customer base, its port in Brunswick, Georgia, and to the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International manufacturing facility in Alabama.

“New Jersey has been a wonderful home to our U.S. operations for our first 50 years, and still is today,” Cannon said. “The state has worked tirelessly with us as we evaluated our options. Ultimately, though, it became apparent that to achieve the sustained, profitable growth and efficiencies we require for the decades ahead, our headquarters would have to be located elsewhere.”

According to NorthJersey.com, the Development Authority of Fulton County in Georgia gave approval Tuesday morning for the agency to “formalize negotiations” for what could reportedly be $40 million to $50 million worth of incentives.

Real estate services firm JLL said it provided Mercedes-Benz USA with site selection, economic incentives consulting, tenant representation, capital markets and project development services for the project. Michael Sessa and Meredith O’Connor from the firm’s Chicago office, Brad Selner from its Dallas office and Rob Metcalf from its Atlanta office are serving as project leads.

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