Owners of 2 Gateway Center in Newark launch calculator app for state incentives

The owner of one of Newark’s largest office towers has launched a new mobile app to help prospective tenants estimate the tax credit they could receive under New Jersey’s recently overhauled business incentive programs.C&K Properties, which owns 2 Gateway Center, said the app allows a business to quantify its benefit under the Grow New Jersey program using basic information such as staff size and space needs. Under the program, the incentives for would-be tenants at the 18-story building can reach $85,000 to $150,000 per employee when adding bonuses for factors such as being in a city and close to mass transit.

The calculator app, titled “2 Gateway,” is available for free download from the iTunes store for the iPad and iPhone, along with Android platforms, C&K said.

“The logistics of such a sweeping piece of legislation are understandably daunting to even the most seasoned of real estate professionals,” Ben Korman, partner at C&K Properties, said in a prepared statement. “We are eager to streamline and simplify the process to ensure that prospective businesses can realize their full benefits from this law, which are often lucrative enough to completely cover the cost of rent.”

Grow New Jersey was revamped last September under the landmark Economic Opportunity Act, a law aiming to overhaul New Jersey’s business and development incentives and make it more competitive with surrounding states.

C&K subsequently created an “incentives concierge” service to help would-be tenants understand their options at 2 Gateway. Overseeing the free consulting service is Ted Zangari, a Sills Cummis & Gross attorney who helped craft the incentives overhaul.

The office tower, which sits along Market Street between McCarter Highway and Mulberry Street, has available spaces ranging from 3,000 to 360,000 square feet. The building is part of Newark’s Gateway complex and has a pedestrian skyway connecting to Newark Penn Station.