Dive Brief:
- Subaru of America has selected the partnership of Turner Construction Company and Perryman Building and Construction Services to build its new 250,000-square-foot Northeast headquarters, part of a $1 billion, 12.5-acre development meant to transform the poverty-ridden town of Camden, NJ, according to a statement by Turner. Subaru broke ground on the project in early December.
- The headquarters includes four floors of office, collaboration and meeting space, a large-format print center, a fitness center, a kitchen, servery and a flexible conference center with meeting areas. According to The Inquirer, Subaru will also build an 83,000-square-foot training site, but there is no mention yet of a contractor for that phase.
- Subaru is the first anchor tenant of the Camden waterfront development that will eventually be called Knights Crossing, according to The Inquirer. Local officials hope the development will spur growth nearby and bring more jobs to the city. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority gave Subaru $118 million in tax incentives to move from Cherry Hill, NJ, approximately four miles away from the Camden site. The tax credits will be spread over 10 years and are conditional on the company creating or saving at least 250 jobs in the city and staying in Camden for at least 15 years.
Dive Insight:
Critics of the Subaru deal say the automaker is bringing existing employees from its current location, not creating new jobs in Camden, The Inquirer reported. Some also claim that the Subaru headquarters is three miles from local businesses and say are worried those establishments will not benefit from Subaru’s presence.
Subaru president and CEO Thomas Doll said he expects company employees to continue to spend approximately $1.5 million annually at local businesses, especially if more businesses start popping up around the new office.
"There is going to be the need for a lot of services and ancillary businesses to support this growth," Doll said. "This kind of investment is going to have a huge impact on the local economy of Camden.”
The price of the Turner-Perryman contract has not been announced, but this is the third recent case in the last month of large construction companies joining forces to tackle large projects.
New Orleans recently awarded Hunt-Gibbs-Boh-Metro, a joint venture of Hunt Construction Group, Gibbs Construction, Boh Bros. Construction Co. and Metro Service Group, a $598 million contract for construction of a 760,500-square-foot terminal at Louis Armstrong International Airport. On another significant project, Mortenson/WELBRO, a joint venture of Mortenson Construction and Welbro Building Corp., won a $530 million contract to build the massive Gaylord Rockies hotel and conference center in Aurora, CO.