A headquarters move is never just a real estate decision. It’s a statement — to customers, to employees, and sometimes, to the communities in which you relocate.
Few New Jersey moves in recent memory make that case better than South Jersey Gas’s 2018 return to Atlantic City — and few executives will say so more plainly than Mike Renna, who oversaw it then and is now retiring as CEO of South Jersey Industries after nearly three decades with the company.
On the day of the ribbon-cutting, Renna didn’t talk about square footage, the modern amenities, or the incredible view of the ocean that would help attract and retain the workforce he needed.
Renna talked about a city that needed saving.
“Four years ago, the city was in a little bit of trouble,” Renna said that day. “It seemed like everyone was moving out, casinos were closing and there was not a lot of optimism and hope. We saw an opportunity to come back home.
“The city needed jobs. We’re bringing jobs.”
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The utility had been headquartered in Atlantic City for 60 years before relocating to Folsom. In 2018, South Jersey Gas’s parent company brought it back — not to a generic office park, but to a 75,000-square-foot, purpose-built tower at 1 South Jersey Place, right on the boardwalk. Just over 200 employees eventually would work out of the building; nearly all were already in place by the ribbon-cutting, with the rest expected by year’s end, Renna said at the time.
Renna understood what that workforce meant to a city that had leaned on one industry for generations.
“This was a casino-centric town,” he said. “We’re now bringing back one of the largest employers in southern Jersey.
“There’s a new sense of excitement in Atlantic City and we’re really glad to be a part of it.”
Chris Paladino, the president of AC DEVCO, which oversees the Gateway section of the city that includes South Jersey Gas and an Atlantic City campus for Stockton University, said the commitment by Renna was a game-changer.
“The most important part of the move is the continued engagement that the company has done with the local community, and particularly minority residents and students, trying to interest them in the business through internship and mentoring programs,” he said.
“They actively recruit out of Atlantic City High School and Atlantic Cape Community College.”
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The building itself was designed with more than utility bills in mind.
Thirteen stories of concrete-framed tower sit atop a six-story podium, with six floors of office space rising above a Stockton University parking garage and ground-level retail. Inside: modern workstations, training facilities, meeting spaces, a café and a fitness center — the kind of amenities that say a company is thinking about the people inside the building, not just the ones it serves outside it.
In the years since, Renna’s public framing of the move has leaned more on customers and community than on that day-one urgency.
“Moving the headquarters of South Jersey Gas to Atlantic City wasn’t just about making room for a growing workforce,” he said. “It was so we could more effectively meet the demands of our more than 430,000 customers, ensuring they continue to receive the safe, reliable, and affordable energy they depend on each and every day.”
Paladino, who sits on the South Jersey Industries board, said being in the city means everything.
“It’s a huge community investment that builds culture in the company and the people it serves,” he said.
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In 2018, Atlantic City was a struggling city that not only needed jobs but a reason for hope. South Jersey Gas came home to provide both.
South Jersey Gas’s new headquarters opened as part of the $210 million Atlantic City Gateway Project, a public-private redevelopment that also delivered a Stockton University satellite campus and housing for more than 500 students. The utility wasn’t just moving into a new building — it was moving into a neighborhood being rebuilt in real time, arriving at a moment when the city badly needed proof that someone still believed in it.
Renna steps down as SJI’s CEO this August, capping a run that began in 1998. Of everything he oversaw in that time, the Atlantic City move may be the one that reads most like a legacy — not because of the square footage or the amenities, but because of what he said the day the doors opened: the city needed jobs and they brought jobs.
The partnership has only grown since.
“We are grateful for the customers and communities we serve,” he added. “As part of our mission to give back, our move of the South Jersey Gas headquarters to the Atlantic City community has allowed us to broaden our reach and expand our community partnerships.
“We proudly continue to support local, regional, and statewide organizations with vital funding and dedicated volunteer hours, helping to uplift those who need it most.”
For information about South Jersey Industries, go to sjindustries.com/.
