By Joshua Burd
The state is hoping to coax a supermarket co-op to move its offices from Staten Island to Old Bridge as part of a recently approved tax credit incentive, as it moves to keep another food-related company from moving jobs out of New Jersey.
The Economic Development Authority on Tuesday voted to offer a 10-year, $4.9 million tax credit to Key Food Stores Co-Operative Inc., which provides inventory and services to some 270 supermarkets in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Established in 1937, the company is currently based in the New York City borough, but is seeking additional space to accommodate its growth.
To that end, Key Food has proposed leasing 37,442 square feet at 100 Matawan Road in Old Bridge, a 134,000-square-foot office building. The state has approved the Grow New Jersey tax credit in connection with the prospective move, which would also bring 115 new jobs to the state.
Key Food has told the EDA it was considering an alternative option in which it would stay in its existing office in Staten Island and take another 12,000 square feet in an adjacent building. The authority says New Jersey is the more expensive option, citing certification from Key Food CEO Dean Janeway that the tax credits would be a material factor in the location decision.
The EDA also estimates the project would have a net benefit to New Jersey of $47.9 million over the 20-year period required by state law. The incentive award is conditional and would only be disbursed to Key Food once it has met its job creation and capital investment requirements.
The authority on Tuesday also approved a 10-year, $6.48 million Grow New Jersey award for Singer NY LLC, a provider of food service equipment and supplies to restaurants, bars, caterers, hospitals and other entities. The Elverson, Pennsylvania-based firm is weighing its options for its existing 139,008-square-foot warehouse, located at 1200 Madison Ave. in Paterson, which it says requires a substantial investment to replace the roof and repair the floor, heating system, bathrooms and carpet.
Singer’s current lease in Paterson expires in 2021, the EDA said. The alternative is to use previously prepared land development plans at the facility it owns in Elverson, where it would build a 69,600-square-foot warehouse expansion.
The Paterson facility operates with 129 employees, 74 of which are at risk of being moved out of the state, according to the EDA. If Singer opts to reinvest in New Jersey, the agency estimates the project would have a net benefit to the state of $2.6 million over 20 years.
Murphy Partners LLP represented Singer in its application to the EDA.
