The Harvé Benard facility is expected to be ready for occupancy in about a year. Of the total space, 20,000 sf will be corporate headquarters office space, and the rest warehousing and distribution. About 250 staffers will move to the new location from the company's existing operations at two different sites in nearby Secaucus.

"We see this as a major investment in our future growth," according to Morton Holtzman, who with his brother Bernard founded the company in the late 1960s. "All of our New Jersey-based functions will finally be consolidated at one location, which will enhance our operating efficiency."

The Harvé Benard and Allied Office Supply facilities are two of three that will occupy the 50-acre former Givaudan site acquired by Morris a few years back. Details of the third facility have not yet been announced. In the case of the first two facilities, state incentives were involved in the decision-making process.

"The business incentives offered by the state were a tremendous help," Holtzman confirms. "They will enable us not only to retain our workforce, but to increase staff at the Clifton location."

"We develop large sites for our projects," explains Ron Schram, Morris senior vice president. In other words, they're the kind of projects most likely to depend on incentives packages, and Schram credits both the state and the city of Clifton, "which has been very helpful to us on this development."

As part of Morris' ongoing development of the Givaudan site, about 100 new parking spaces will be created for commuters who use the adjacent Delawanna station on the New Jersey Transit main line. The spaces are part of the developer's agreement with Clifton and Passaic County for overall site development.