CAMDEN - Equity Bank will consolidate its headquarters in a building to be erected on the Camden waterfront, bringing up to 100 jobs to the city in what was hailed as another forward step in Camden's rebirth.

Gov. McGreevey announced the move yesterday at a luncheon for an Invest in Camden Day program that brought several hundred businesspeople and movers and shakers to the Tweeter Center.

"If we had held an Invest in Camden Day two years ago, we literally could have held it in a phone booth," the governor said.

Equity becomes the first major company to announce plans to locate offices in the $135 million mixed-use complex Steiner & Associates, the firm that will take over and expand the New Jersey State Aquarium, has committed to build on the waterfront.

The bank, now based in Marlton, also will be entitled to tax breaks offered to all financial institutions that relocate to Camden under a law sponsored by State Sen. Wayne R. Bryant (D., Camden), also a member of Equity's board.

But Michael Quick, Equity's chairman and CEO, said, "That is not the main reason for coming here."

Quick, who grew up in Collingswood and recalls shopping in Camden when he was young, said he was happy to be part of the city's revival. He said Equity and its parent company, Susquehanna Bancshares Inc. of Lititz, Pa., are committed to community development.

He said that banking also has to become more diverse and that relocating to Camden "will be a good opportunity for us."

Equity, he said, has a cooperative relationship with nearby Rutgers University and moving to the waterfront will bring them closer together.

Camden had been home to a number of banks, but they disappeared as they were gobbled up in consolidations over the years.

McGreevey said Equity's decision was "a statement of confidence in the city" and was part of a trend of increased private investment in Camden.

The state has pumped millions of dollars into Camden over the years and McGreevey said the latest commitment of $175 million was "seed money" meant to attract private investment.

That, he said, included plans by Cherokee Investment Partners to transform 450 acres of Cramer Hill into a $1 billion development with 5,545 housing units, an 18-hole golf course and driving range, a marina, and shops.

"By any measure, the dynamism which is occurring in Camden is far exceeding anyone's expectations, including my own," McGreevey said.

Quick said Equity would lease 20,000 square feet of office space in a building Steiner will build in front of a new ferry landing on the waterfront. The bank also will have a branch on the ground floor.

Besides Evesham, the bank has workers in offices elsewhere in New Jersey and in Pennsylvania, Quick said.

About 75 workers will immediately relocate to the headquarters once it opens and 25 more could join them later, Quick said.

He said the company expects to move in 18 to 20 months.

Equity has branches in 16 municipalities in Camden, Burlington and Gloucester Counties in South Jersey and Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania.