Garban Intercapital Leases 111,451 SF at Mack-Cali's Harborside

"Businesses continue to look to Harborside Financial Center as a headquarters location because of its high-quality office space, attractive cost of occupancy and its amenities," according to Mitchell E. Hersh, CEO of the Cranford, NJ-based Mack-Cali. Harborside's Plaza 5 building is 52% pre-leased, according to Hersh, with tenants including SunAmerica Asset Management Corp., Forest Labs and National Financial Services/Fidelity Corporate Real Estate.

Garban Intercapital, an inter-dealer brokerage, had been located at the World Trade Center and has been looking for a permanent home for its North American headquarters since September 11. Some 600 jobs are involved, and the firm has temporarily taken space at two New Jersey locations and at 500 Park Ave. in Manhattan.

The signing at Harborside has raised some legal questions and the possibility of a suit by the State of New York, however. The controversy traces to a predecessor company, Exco, which moved from Jersey City to Lower Manhattan four years ago, lured by a New York State grant of nearly $1.5 million.

Exco fell on hard times, however, and was acquired by Intercapital, which later merged with Garban. In the process, Exco never met the job creation requirement laid out in its agreement with New York State, and with Garban now slated to move back to New Jersey, New York wants the money it gave Exco returned. According to a published report, the State of New York is currently preparing a lawsuit to reclaim its money.

Another issue is the incentives package that New Jersey is said to have offered Garban to move permanently back across the river. Sources place that package at more than $8 million. "New York had nothing like that to offer, even for a Downtown location," according to one source with knowledge of the transaction.

"And New York State and City officials are steamed about what they perceive as 'poaching' by New Jersey," according to the source. Garban and New York State officials could not be reached for comment, and New Jersey and Mack-Cali officials declined to comment.