Exclusive: Tax credits lure big accounting firm to Center City from suburbs

EisnerAmper will relocate its main local office from Jenkintown to One Logan Square in Center City, becoming the first business to apply for and receive the Philadelphia Job Creation Tax Credit passed in October by Philadelphia City Council.

The accounting firm will consolidate its main office at 101 West Avenue in Jenkintown and a Center City satellite location at Two Logan Square to One Logan, where it signed a 15-year lease with with Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) for approximately 42,000 square feet of space on the 29th and 30th floors — the top two floors overlooking the Ben Franklin Parkway. The firm will make the move in November 2015, a month after the Jenkintown lease expires.

The deal, brokered by Jeff Seligsohn of SSH Real Estate, was partly made possible by the tax credit program that will give EisnerAmper a $5,000 tax break for every new job it brings to the city for the first five years of the lease.

Lori Reiner, partner-in-charge of EisnerAmper's Philadelphia practice, said the firm will be required to bring a minimum of 100 new jobs to the city in order to qualify for the tax credits. It will easily meet that standard as the 30,000 square-foot Jenkintown office houses 131 employees while the 7,000 square-foot Two Logan office has 20 employees.

The move is sort of a homecoming for EisnerAmper, whose predecessor, Goldenberg Rosenthal, had historically been located in Philadelphia since opening its doors in 1919. It decided to move out of the PSFS Building (now the Loews Hotel) to Jenkintown in 1990 when working in the city was not as attractive as it is now for younger professionals.

But two years ago, EisnerAmper decided to sublet space at Two Logan and move three practice groups — consulting, bankruptcy/restructuring and litigation support — into the city. It also said back then it would determine whether to re-up its Jenkintown lease or relocate completely to Philadelphia within two years.

Reiner said the move back to Philadelphia will allow the firm to better recruit talent and be more visible in the business community. She said the firm was attracted to the close proximity to a vibrant cultural scene, colleges and universities and a thriving entrepreneurial community. She also called City Council's passing of the jobs creation tax credit as a "game changer" in the firm's decision-making process.

"Philadelphia is a hot bed of activity and we are excited to be a part of it," Reiner said. "Jenkintown was a challenge to have clients and referral sources meet with us. It was tough to host gatherings there. Now we can host seminars and meetings at the firm. And it will make recruiting much easier."

Most of EisnerAmper's competitors have their main local offices situated in Center City. When looking at the Philadelphia Business Journal's annual list of the 25 largest accounting firms, the big four — Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and Ernst & Young — all have offices on Market Street in Center City.

As for the next tier of firms with whom EisnerAmper competes for talent, Grant Thornton, ParenteBeard, CliftonLarsonAllen and BDO are located in the city. But several other competitors, such as CBIZ, McGladrey, Kreischer Miller, WeiserMazars and Marcum are based locally in suburban locations like Bala Cynwyd, Horsham, Blue Bell, Plymouth Meeting, Conshohocken and Fort Washington that are near public transportation or main highways.

For the most part, EisnerAmper employees have responded well to the move, said Reiner, which could create longer commutes for some as well as additional parking and travel expenses — not to mention being on the hook for the city wage tax. But Reiner said the firm will maintain a suburban satellite office — it hasn't decided where — for those who need to work in the suburbs on a particular day and some can work at client offices or virtually.

"In public accounting, our people go where the clients go," Reiner said. "We're very flexible in terms of from where and how people do their jobs. So for the most part, I think our people are very excited about this."

In a statement, Philadelphia's Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Alan Greenberger, said EisnerAmper's decision to relocate will reinforce Philadelphia's role as a place to do business as well as attract talent.

"As Philadelphia continues to add population, particularly of educated and talented young people, businesses will find the city to be a more attractive place to locate, further securing our growing national and international reputation," Greenberger said.

In addition to new office space and employee amenities, EisnerAmper is building a training center in order to provide educational programming and thought leadership to staff, clients and the business community.

New York-based EisnerAmper entered the Philadelphia market when predecessor Amper Politziner & Mattia bought Jenkintown-based Goldenberg Rosenthal, one of the region's largest accounting firms in 2008. Amper then merged with New York-based Eisner to form EisnerAmper in 2010. It has offices in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California and the Cayman Islands and is the 18th largest accounting firm in the country, according to Inside Public Accounting.

EisnerAmper is the second significant tenant to pick One Logan this fall. In September, investment firm Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. sold its building at 1529 Walnut Street — its home for the past 90 years — and signed a lease for 20,000 square feet at One Logan.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal