Elwyn moves jobs to N.J. in exchange for tax credits

MIDDLETOWN >> Elwyn announced it plans to move up to 200 administrative staff to Camden, N.J., after winning $39.6 million in tax credits in exchange for a 34-year commitment to the New Jersey city.

Elwyn officials announced they had been working on the deal for a year with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority that would give Elwyn $3.9 million a year in tax credits for 10 years for agreeing “to make a capital investment and locate in Camden.”

The jobs must be relocated within three years of accepting the award and Elwyn officials said they anticipate being in Camden by summer 2020.

A few weeks ago, Elwyn’s president and chief executive officer, Charles S. McLister, told the Middletown Township Council that the agency was planning to shift from its on-campus residential model to a reduced-size campus as the number of adults living there has decreased from 2,000 or more 30 years ago to less than 200 today.

As part of that, Elwyn officials want to offload parcels of their 500-acre property with the idea that they’ll be able to use 70 acres efficiently for future services. Middletown officials have expressed their interest in purchasing the 80 acres associated with the former Sleighton School.

On Tuesday, McLister announced the approval of Grow NJ application.

“We are excited to contribute to the economic development of Camden,” McLister said, “and to be a part of the revitalization of the region. By establishing an administrative center in Camden, Elwyn will bring economic activity and community-level engagement within the human services sector.”

He added, “We would not consider moving up to 200 administrative jobs from Pennsylvania to Camden but for the Grow NJ tax credits.”

In the statement, McLister said the EDA’s approval of the tax credit “advances Elwyn’s overall strategic plan by allowing us to consolidate multiple sites across the region and by positioning us for strong recruitment in missioncritical areas such as human resources, technology and innovation and leadership. Overall, this project will enhance our ability to grow services in the Delaware Valley.”

Prior to joining Elwyn in April 2017, McLister volunteered as chairman of Camden, N.J.-based Hopeworks for seven years. Hopeworks

is a non-profit organization focusing on education, technology and entrepreneurship for youth with the mission of helping to break the cycle of poverty and violence. McLister is also a resident of Haddonfield, N.J.

In the statement, McLister said the Delaware County headquarters will remain the center of the organization.

“Elwyn will always be a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit corporation,” he said. “In fact, we anticipate increasing and expanding the number of staff and services we provide in Delaware County over this period

of transition.”

Officials say Elwyn’s parent company and its largest operating subsidiary will remain incorporated as a Pennsylvania non-profit even as human resources, innovation and technology, fundraising and other administrative staff will move to the Camden location. As part of this move, Elwyn New Jersey will consolidate its administrative functions.

Elwyn officials said the Camden/Philadelphia location provide a strategic location for future talent recruitment.

Elwyn has served individuals with autism and intellectual, developmental and behavioral challenges since 1852.