From the The Real Deal:
Verizon secures $20M in tax credits to stay in Newark
(by David Jones)
New Jersey awarded its first-ever urban transit hub tax credit to Verizon New Jersey Inc., under a sale-leaseback agreement with Accordia Realty Ventures that will keep the phone company headquarters in the city of Newark, officials said.
Verizon, which had previously announced plans to leave its Newark headquarters, will receive $20 million in tax credits over 10 years under the state's new program, which is designed to encourage businesses to operate near commuter rail stations.
The program offers tax credits to companies that locate within a half mile of a N.J. Transit, PATCO or PATH station in one of nine N.J. cities, including Hoboken, Jersey City, Elizabeth and other areas....
..."What you're trying to do is create a situation where you are keeping economic development and jobs in a major city near a transit location," said Glenn Phillips, spokesman for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. "In Newark it's particularly relevant because it's also going to help bring other tenants."
Joe Ritchie, chief executive of the Brick City Development Corp., the main economic development agency in Newark, said the city is recruiting financial services and technology companies to relocate their back-end operations there, as Broad Street sits on top of a major broadband pipeline that is designed for high-speed data operations.
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