CAMDEN — Calling your company “City Invincible” and relocating from the upscale community of Haddonfield to the City of Camden — without the tax breaks that have lured many more groups here — may seem like a leap of faith to some.
That’s exactly what this architecture, urban design and tech start-up firm did and its week-old digs along Market Street, inside of the former and heavily remodeled National State Bank of Camden, are part of a Camden the group hopes to improve.
“As an urban planner, you start to see the signs of a true rebuilding of a city,” Angelo Alberto, principal of City Invincible (CI) and head of the formerly Haddonfield-based Alberto & Associates, said in the lobby of his building erected in 1913.
CI is a consortium of Alberto’s firm, the Haley Donovan architecture group, Berzinsky Architects, Gregory La Varda’s architecture and design group, Waterfront Lab and Keller Engineers of NJ LLC.
“In order for the waterfront to grow, people need a place to work,” said Khai Tran, 27, who heads up the Waterfront Lab that is relocating from a few blocks over to the aging bank-turned-21st Century development hub.
Much like Subaru, Holtec International, Lockheed Martin and a host of other companies who moved or grew in Camden, CI’s pitch to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) for tax breaks was turned down. Some companies have received millions of dollars in tax breaks over a decade to make their expansion work.
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As Alberto explained it, this group was “intrigued” by tax credits but simply didn’t have enough employees to qualify. At 26 workers now with about 20 more expected through other firms, the EDA needs at least 38 manufacturing or support workers and this group didn’t fit the bill.
That wasn’t the only stumbling block. Tran said investors who give start-ups like his a leg up in the world are pitching in less and less money — from $1 million to $500,000 down to about half the latter figure.
Hammonton resident Sam Mody, who heads up the Keller operation under CI’s roof, said he was commuting to Edison and points north of that in New Jersey or New York City for work.
Now he’s in Camden — and couldn’t be happier.
“We’re trying to improve quality of life through civil transportation initiatives,” he said of his group’s work. “We want to be part of the community.”
Camden County Freeholder Bill Moen, who lives around the corner from the new venture in the Victor Lofts, said he’s seen small businesses take hold along Market Street. He can look at the number of pizza slices being slung by workers at the neighboring joint and just know that things are improving here.
“Over the past two or three years of walking down Market Street, there’s been a transformation,” he said of store fronts replacing once vacant buildings. “I’m optimistic that within the next five years, that there will be a more complete waterfront area.”
Until then, CI partners will keep pecking away at the Camden reputation they seem to be flying in the face of.
“This building is what we want to see in the city,” said CI’s Josh Eckert.
Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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