Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Boscov's Makes Good on Its Promise to Atlantic County

Boscov’s has made its final payment on a 10-year, $3 million loan that was backed by Atlantic County government to help provide financial stability to the 49-store retailer and save hundreds of jobs at its Egg Harbor Township location.
 
“We put our faith in Al Boscov and he did not disappoint us,” stated Dennis Levinson, Atlantic County Executive of the company patriarch who came to Levinson in 2009 to ask for his help. “Al Boscov gave me his word and kept his promise to Atlantic County.”
 
Jim Boscov, who now serves as company chairman since the passing of Al Boscov in 2017, said, “We are extremely grateful to Atlantic County for coming to our aid during a very difficult time. You made it possible to keep our number one store open, but more importantly you helped keep your neighbors employed. I’m proud of our hardworking coworkers and grateful to our loyal customers.” 

“This decision was not made in haste. The agreement included job protection provisions and a requirement that 51 percent of any new hires had to be low and moderate income residents. We were also included in the first lien position to further protect our taxpayers should Boscov’s default on the loan.”
 
Levinson noted that at the time the agreement was controversial with much public input both for and against the county’s involvement.
 
“I could understand their concerns but we felt it was necessary to take this action to prevent our local Boscov’s from closing and putting residents out of work when across the country we were dealing with a severe financial downturn,” he said. “The last thing we needed was another empty shopping center.”
 
According to Levinson, the county’s faith and foresight paid off.
 
“The Egg Harbor Township store remains the most successful of all Boscov’s locations in the country and we kept it open at no cost to the taxpayer.”

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