By Joshua Burd
The state has approved a 10-year, $14.7 million tax credit to encourage luxury fashion giant Gucci to open a new 52,000-square-foot call center on the Jersey City waterfront.
At its monthly board meeting, the Economic Development Authority on Tuesday approved the Grow New Jersey incentive for Gucci America Inc. According to the authority, the company is considering a lease at 70 Hudson St., a nearly 440,000-square-foot property in the city’s Paulus Hook neighborhood.
The project would result in the creation of 210 new jobs in New Jersey, while coming with a capital investment of $6.66 million, the EDA said. But Gucci is also considering a 49,382-square-foot leased space in the Long Island City section of Queens.
Gucci has told the authority that it was seeking to centralize its consumer service operations and create a call center that would service millions of customers throughout North America. Currently, the company’s customer service operations are fragmented and left to the initiative of its in-store personnel, but the new customer hub would seek to improve and streamline that service.
If the company picks New Jersey, the tax credit package would create a net benefit to the state of $2.9 million over 20 years, the EDA said.
Murphy Partners LLP represented Gucci America in its application to the state.
