Some industry analysts expressed surprise that Hertz's main office is leaving metro New York. Bloomberg file
Hertz will get nearly $19 million in incentives to build its new corporate headquarters - a 300,000-square-foot facility serving as a combined base with its new acquisition, Dollar Thrifty - in Estero, Fla.
Some 120 employees from Dollar Thrifty Automotive's headquarters in Tulsa will be moving to Estero by 2015, Hertz Global Holdings Inc. announced Tuesday from its current base in Park Ridge, N.J.
The News-Press of nearby Fort Myers, Fla., reported that Hertz is getting $14.4 million from the state of Florida and $4.6 million from Lee County, Fla., to build a $60 million facility that will bring nearly 700 employees to the area.
The move surprised many analysts, who expected Hertz to remain in the New York metro area.
"The bottom line is that they probably got very good incentives to go down there," said Neil Abrams, an auto rental industry analyst with Abrams Consulting in Purchase, N.Y. "I do believe that it is important to consolidate, and it makes perfect sense to consolidate both brands under one roof and take care of all of the efficiencies and synergies."
Hertz says it plans to leave about 600 employees in Tulsa after the move.
Another 1,700 employees are at a Hertz regional operations center in Oklahoma City. Those operations will be affected by the move, but specifics are uncertain.
Justin McLaughlin, senior vice president of economic development for the Tulsa Regional Chamber, said chamber officials have kept in close contact with Hertz since the merger in November and that company officials never spoke of leaving New Jersey.
He also said Tulsa never appeared to be on Hertz's radar.
"We have stayed very much engaged with Hertz throughout this process, but Tulsa was never approached as a possible site," he said.
Even if it had been, he said, it would be hard for Tulsa to compete with the $19 million in incentives for the company to relocate in southwestern Florida. Tulsa doesn't have a "closing fund" for companies, and other incentive vehicles - such as tax increment financing districts - must be approved through local and state governments.
The state does offer the popular Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program, which gives up to a 5 percent payroll rebate to companies that create jobs that hit certain salary and benefits criteria. But even that program, McLaughlin said, doesn't pay for up-front construction costs.
"Incentives don't make a bad location good, but they do make a difference when a company is down to three or five sites," he said. "But Tulsa doesn't have a local closing fund, and that continues to be a challenge for us. There are some consultants that tell us they won't even deal with us without a closing fund."
A closing fund was presented to Tulsa County voters last November as part of the Vision2 proposal, which also included upgrades for business properties at Tulsa International Airport. Voters rejected the plan.
Kyle Arnold 918-581-8380
kyle.arnold@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Florida incentives tough to match, chamber says
