NEWS

Christie at UPS groundbreaking in Parsippany

William Westhoven
@WWesthoven

PARSIPPANY - Touting an incentive-laden deal to keep UPS in New Jersey — and bring it to Parsippany — as " a clear sign of where New Jersey is headed," Gov. Chris Christie attended the groundbreaking of the company's new 200,000-square-foot technology center.

Dignitaries throw a shovel full of dirt for the groundbreaking at the new UPS Technology complex, a 200,000 square foot building sitting on more than 20 acres of land off Cherry Hill Road. March 29, 2016. Parsippany, N.J.

"We have recovered from the long recession," Christie said. "We have put more of our people back to work than anytime before. And that's not government doing it. That's private-sector companies like UPS."

Technically, UPS broke ground on its new construction on Feb. 15, and excavators were at work on the 20-acre site off Cherry Hill Road while the invitation-only event unfolded. The four-story building, expected to open next year, will be outfitted with enhanced communications systems to connect UPS technologists and business units around the world.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks before the groundbreaking for the new UPS Technology complex, a 200,000 square foot building sitting on more than 20 acres of land off Cherry Hill Road. March 29, 2016. Parsippany, N.J.

The new building will house about 900 of 15,000 UPS employees in New Jersey, most of them coming from a facility in Paramus that will be vacated.

"UPS could have picked another state for this facility, but they didn't," Christie said.

The Christie administration helped pave the way to keep UPS in the Garden State with a New Jersey Economic Development Authority “Grow New Jersey” grant of $40 million covering 10 years. Other large Morris County employers have received similar incentives, including $40 million in tax incentives to Honeywell Corp. in 2013 when it announced a move from its longtime Morris Township headquarters; it moved to Morris Plains instead of leaving the state.

"UPS is preserving more than 700 jobs, creating approximately 220 construction jobs and bringing with it more than $57 million in capital investment to Parsippany, Morris County and the state of New Jersey," Christie said. "It's a real clear sign of where New Jersey is headed."

The governor continued his case for economic recovery during a brief address, citing the declining unemployment rate as a critical example.

"Our unemployment rate is now down to 4.3 percent," Christie said. "It is six-tenths of a point below the national average, and it is now the lowest unemployment rate in the region. Since May of 2012, we have had 46 months in a row now where unemployment has either remained stable or has gone down."

Christie spoke as strong winds shook the large banquet tent pitched on the construction site for the groundbreaking.

"After you've been governor for six years, even the prospect of this tent coming down will not prevent me from being able to continue to talk about good unemployment numbers," Christie joked. "Because when we had really bad unemployment numbers, I was doing everything I could to not talk about it."

Democratic opponents might prefer government programs to lead the economic recovery instead of the business sector, but in on his home turf in Republican-heavy Morris County, Christie was preaching to the choir.

"It's huge for Parsippany and Morris County," said Morris County Chamber of Commerce President Paul Boudreau. "It's going to attract even more employers. It's a win-win- for everybody."

Dignitaries line up for the groundbreaking for the new UPS Technology complex, a 200,000 square foot building sitting on more than 20 acres of land off Cherry Hill Road. March 29, 2016. Parsippany, N.J.

"The (tax incentive for UPS) works out as a net positive for New Jersey because it gets people to work, and in turn they are going to pay taxes and boost the economy," said state Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-26). "The continued creation of jobs is a great thing, and I'm really proud that it's in my district. The question you have to ask yourself is: Who do you want to be the first purveyor of jobs, the government or the private sector? I think the private sector does it better. You hear all the numbers of jobs that UPS creates."

"Citizens read about ($40 million) and think 'Wow, that's a lot of money,’ ” Boudreau said. "State programs are designed so that the state absolutely knows what the numbers are in terms of the net coming back to the communities and state over time. This is not New Jersey giving a private-sector company all this money for nothing. New Jersey's going to get much more back from this at the end of the day than they're giving."

The U.S. Labor Department recently released revised data from 2015, showing the New Jersey job market added 81,600 jobs, much better than the initial estimate of 65,300 jobs. The department also said New Jersey lost 15,700 jobs in January 2016 and 8,600 jobs in February, according to preliminary estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, wiping out about 30 percent of last year's gains.

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@gannettnj.com. Michael Diamond contributed to this story. mdiamond@gannettnj.com

Dignitaries throw a shovel full of dirt for the groundbreaking at the new UPS Technology complex, a 200,000 square foot building sitting on more than 20 acres of land off Cherry Hill Road. March 29, 2016. Parsippany, N.J.
UPS Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Dave Barnes speaks before the groundbreaking for the new UPS Technology complex, a 200,000 square foot building sitting on more than 20 acres of land off Cherry Hill Road. March 29, 2016. Parsippany, N.J.
Parsippany Mayor Jamie Barberio speaks before the groundbreaking for the new UPS Technology complex, a 200,000 square foot building sitting on more than 20 acres of land off Cherry Hill Road. March 29, 2016. Parsippany, N.J.
Parsippany Mayor Jamie Barberio speaks before the groundbreaking for the new UPS Technology complex, a 200,000 square foot building sitting on more than 20 acres of land off Cherry Hill Road. March 29, 2016. Parsippany, N.J.