Water company could bring 600 jobs to Camden with incentives

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A New Jersey company is being offered a $164 million incentive to move about 10 miles, but the firm has not decided on whether to take the deal.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority on Tuesday awarded American Water Works tax credits worth $16.4 million a year for 10 years to move from Voorhees to Camden.

In a statement, company spokesman Denise Venuti Free calls the offer "an important step in our decision-making process."

In filings with the state, the company says it would move 496 jobs from elsewhere in southern New Jersey and bring in 100 additional workers if it consolidates its headquarters in Camden.

The company also says it would spend $164 million on its offices if it made the move. It would be required to make that investment and produce the promised jobs for the tax credits to be granted.

If the credits are more than the company needs, it could sell them.

The company also says it is considering a move to nearby Philadelphia's Navy Yard.

New Jersey has been using major tax incentives to bring companies to Camden, one of the most impoverished cities in the country. Subaru is moving its North American headquarters there; Holtec International, a nuclear power generating components maker is planning a plant there and the Philadelphia 76ers are building a practice facility in the city, among other firms making the move.
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