A state agency has approved an $18.3 million tax break for a Camden Waterfront hotel proposed by an investor group affiliated with Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III.
The Economic Development Authority, which endorsed the incentive at a June 13 meeting, earlier this year backed a $245 million tax break for a Waterfront office tower planned by the same investors.
The EDA also approved a $3 million low-interest loan for the eight-story hotel at Cooper Street and Riverside Drive. The 180-room hotel will cost about $52.8 million, with hotel owner CHP Land LLC covering 40 percent of the expense.
Connor Strong & Buckelew, an Evesham insurance firm run by Norcross, controls 30 percent of CHP Land, according to the EDA. Equal shares are held by The Michaels Organization, an Evesham housing firm, and NFI, a Cherry Hill logistics company.
The three South Jersey firms in March received a tax break for a proposed 18-story office tower and garage near the planned Hilton Garden hotel. That incentive was valued at $86.2 million for Connor Strong and at $79.4 million each for NFI and The Michaels Organization.