Invesco Gets Approval For Incentive Package Over Board Criticism

Despite being what one board member called the “worst example” of corporate real estate tax breaks, Invest Atlanta's board approved Invesco's $843K incentive package to move to Midtown Union.

The board of Invest Atlanta, the economic development arm of the city, approved a $33.75M lease-purchase bond Dec. 17 by a vote of 6-3, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. The bond paves the way for Invesco to realize more than $800K in tax savings over the next decade for costs associated with the acquisition of “machinery, equipment and other personal property” at its new headquarters at Midtown Union.

The vote prompted Invest Atlanta board member Lee Morris to criticize the package during the Dec. 17 meeting.

“We simply have subsidized this particular company a great deal,” Morris was quoted as saying by the ABC. “It is our public responsibility to use that money wisely, and this, I believe, is simply the worst example of that [responsibility] we've had recently.”

Invesco announced last year that it would keep its global headquarters in Atlanta and move to Midtown Union, the MetLife Investment Management-led mixed-use development off 17th and Spring streets. Invesco is anchoring the new 26-story office tower with a 300K SF lease. MetLife and partner Granite Properties also are adding apartments and a Kimpton-branded hotel to the site.

Invesco was eyeing two other Sun Belt locations for its headquarters, Invest Atlanta officials previously said. The company also says it will add 500 new jobs to its roster of 586 local employees. Last year, Invesco acquired a majority stake in MassMutual's OppenheimerFunds, creating the country's sixth-largest retail asset management firm with assets of $1.2 trillion.