In this photo released by Panasonic, Panasonic Chief Executive Officer Joseph Taylor signs the lease agreement to bring the corporation's North American Headquarters to Newark, Wednesday, April 20, 2011 in Newark, N.J. From left, New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno; Newark Mayor Cory Booker; Chief Executive Officer of SJP Properties, Steven J. Pozycki. (AP Photo/Panasonic, Gary He)
Newark Mayor Cory Booker is a man on a mission: to revitalize a city that has been worn down by decades of corruption, mismanagement, poverty and crime. The former Stanford University football player and Rhodes Scholar has enlisted some tech heavies to help him, including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Kleiner Perkins venture capitalist John Doerr, and Bill and Melinda Gates.
On Wednesday, Booker added another ally to his team: Japanese industrial and technology behemoth Panasonic, which is moving its North American headquarters to Newark, New Jersey.
Panasonic is currently based in Secaucus, New Jersey, but thanks to a $102 million transit hub tax credit from the state, the company said it plans to move into a ?new, state-of-the-art, sustainable high-rise office building to be constructed adjacent to Newark?s One Riverfront Center.?
Beginning in 2013, the building will be home to over 1,000 Panasonic employees and contractors. The tax break is part of the Urban Transit Hub program, which is designed to spur economic development in urban centers near the state?s commuter rail lines.
Newark, with a population of 280,000 people, is a massive transportation hub, and is located just over a dozen miles outside of New York City.
Booker has made clear that his goal is nothing less than ?to set a national standard for urban transformation.?
On Wednesday, Joseph M. Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corporation of North America, described the announcement as ?the culmination of a very exhaustive process for us in which we examined all of the options available to us that would meet our needs and goals for our future as a green business technology leader.?
Taylor said the company would work with two real-estate developers, Matrix Development Group and SJP Properties,to make sure the building is designed and constructed from ?an environmental perspective.?
?We were looking for a solution that would be sustainable and easily accessible to mass transit that would enable Panasonic to greatly reduce its carbon footprint and demonstrate our credibility as a sustainable company,? Taylor said. ?We have found that solution here in Newark.?
The deal is another coup for Booker, an ambitious young politician who is widely regarded as one of the rising stars in the Democratic Party. Booker has said that he is staking his political career on his efforts to revitalize the Newark.
?Panasonic?s arrival demonstrates a confidence in our city ? in our workforce, in our infrastructure, and in our future,? Booker said in a statement. ?This is a monumental moment for Newark ? a true milestone in our city?s rebirth and revitalization.
The deal is not without controversy, however. Panasonic?s current Secaucus landlord, Hartz Mountain Industries, has sued to try to stop the $102 million tax break, saying that the state Economic Development Authority (EDA) has overstated the expected economic benefit and overstepped its authority.
Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli is also against the deal, saying one New Jersey city shouldn?t encourage its own economic development at the expense of another,
In its lawsuit against the the EDA, Hartz calls the tax break, ?arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable, without sufficient factual basis, and a gross abuse of discretion,? according to the Bergen County Record.
But in a statement, State Senator Ray Lesniak, Chair of the Senate?s Economic Growth Committee, disagreed, calling the tax break, ?an example of how the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit legislation was designed to work, attracting good paying jobs and investment to our urban areas where jobs are most needed.?
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