NJ Smart Choices

Building the movement for smart land use
and transportation planning in New Jersey.

NJ Funding Programs

Please send feedback, suggestions for improvements and corrections of information to Juliette Michaelson (jmichaelson@pps.org).

Search results for Brownfields

Brownfield Development Area Initiative
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NJ Department of Environmental Protection

Under the innovative Brownfield Development Area (BDA) initiative, NJDEP works with selected communities affected by multiple Brownfields to design and implement remediation and reuse plans for these properties simultaneously, so that remediation and reuse can occur in a coordinated fashion. All stakeholders, including owners of contaminated properties, potentially responsible parties, developers, community groups, technical experts for the local government and residents, and residents themselves, will be invited to the table to participate in this cleanup and revitalization approach.

The BDA process provides a framework and resources to empower affected neighborhoods to address these difficult brownfields where additional assistance may be needed from all stakeholders, including developers, property owners and parties potentially responsible for the cleanup. It is important to note that the purpose of the BDA initiative is to help reuse of these properties. In the selected BDAs, NJDEP will work closely with other involved agencies and offices, including the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Office of Smart Growth (OSG), to remediate and revitalize communities and neighborhoods, not just individual properties.

For more information:

Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI)
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U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Brownfields Economic Development Initiative is designed to assist cities with the redevelopment of abandoned, idled and underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion and redevelopment is burdened by real or potential environmental contamination. BEDI grant funds are primarily targeted for use with a particular emphasis upon the redevelopment of brownfields sites in economic development projects and the increase of economic opportunities for low-and moderate-income persons as part of the creation or retention of businesses, jobs and increases in the local tax base.

BEDI funds are used as the stimulus for local governments and private sector parties to commence redevelopment or continue phased redevelopment efforts on brownfields sites where either potential or actual environmental conditions are known and redevelopment plans exist. HUD emphasizes the use of BEDI and Section 108 Loan Guarantee funds to finance projects and activities that will provide near-term results and demonstrable economic benefits. HUD does not encourage applications whose scope is limited only to site acquisition and/or remediation (i.e., land banking), where there is no immediately planned redevelopment. BEDI funds are used to enhance the security or to improve the viability of a project financed with a new Section 108 guaranteed loan commitment.

For more information:

  • Visit the BEDI Webpage.
  • Contact the Camden Office of HUD at (856) 757-5081.
  • Contact the Newark Office of HUD at (973) 622-7900.
Economic Development Programs
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NJ Economic Development Authority

The Economic Development Authority (EDA) has targeted a wide variety of financial resources to return New Jersey's economically underutilized sites to productive use and encourage redevelopment of older urban, suburban and rural communities in the state. Often working in partnership with other state agencies, the EDA can offer financial assistance to help cover costs associated with planning and predevelopment, remediation and redevelopment. And, it can provide incentives for business attraction and expansion on redeveloped properties.

The EDA offers assistance to developers, businesses, municipalities and community groups at various stages of the Brownfields restoration process, from planning to cleanup to redevelopment. It sponsors programs that target Brownfields directly, and offers programs that are generally available, which can be useful to developers and businesses seeking to reclaim Brownfields sites. Brownfields remediation programs include:

  • Revenue Allocation District (RAD) Funding: Funding is available to assist municipalities in encouraging revenue-generating development projects in a RAD as part of a locally approved redevelopment plan. NJEDA can serve as a district agent for a municipality to coordinate development. Real estate development assistance can be provided to municipalities or joint ventures.
  • Redevelopment Area Bond Financing: Long-term, low-interest bonds are available for infrastructure improvements and other predevelopment costs, including demolition and remediation.
  • Bond Financing: Financing is available to manufacturers and not-for-profits for real estate acquisitions, new building construction, equipment and renovations. Funding is available to municipalities for infrastructure improvements and other municipal projects.
  • Smart Growth Predevelopment Funding: The program provides low-cost loan and guarantees for pre-development site preparation costs associated with, but not related to, land assemblage, demolition, removal of materials and debris, and engineering. The program benefits commercial, industrial, office and mixed-use projects in urban, developed suburban and rural communities.

For more information:

Local Finance Tools
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Municipal Governments
  • Special (Business) Improvement Districts: SIDs assess residents within set boundaries for additional services, such as park maintenance and public safety. They establish a partnership between property owners and businesses in downtown or commercial areas for the purpose of improving the business climate in a defined area. Impetus for the SID generally comes from business and property owners hoping to attract new customers by cleaning up sidewalks, improving parks, increasing lighting, etc. These business owners want better city services and are willing to pay for it -- within their neighborhood. In some places, they are willing to take on nongovernmental tasks, such as marketing, to supplement city services. There are currently an estimated 70 SIDs in the state of New Jersey. Refer to DCA's "SIDs: Loans & Grants" program for technical and financial assistance.
  • Tax Increment Financing: Tax increment financing can be used for a variety of purposes, including acquiring property to be resold at reduced prices and on-site improvements such as utilities, lights, repaving streets, and restoring neighborhood parks. TIF works like this: When a TIF plan is adopted, the assessed valuation of real property within a designated redevelopment area is frozen. Taxes are paid on the property at this base level while improvements to the area are made, new businesses are attracted, and property values rise. Typically, any increase in the assessed value of the property or additional sales tax revenues makes up the tax increment, which is then used to pay project costs or repay the bonds or other obligations that helped finance the project. By investing in a designated area, the TIF technique has aptly been described as a means of borrowing against the speculative gain that a project should bring.
  • Impact Fees: An impact fee is a one-time charge that private entrepreneurs, often developers, must pay to the local government in order to undertake their projects. In turn, the revenue from the impact fee finances public goods and services associated with the project, but which the developer would not provide voluntarily. Water and sewer lines, streets and bridges, and parks and recreational facilities are typical impact fee-funded projects.
  • User Fee Financing: Parking fees, dog tags, community college tuition, water bills, and park and recreation fees are just a few of the many different kinds of user fees collected by local governments. These funds can then be used to pay for transportation improvements, park maintenance and other municipal services.
  • Property Tax Financing: Perhaps because it is paid in a large lump sum check as opposed to small additions to each purchase, the property tax is the least popular of all state and local taxes. Yet they are an important source of revenue for local governments because they provide a steady source of revenue, less affected by downturns in the economy than either the sales or the income tax. In addition, property taxes are relatively easily administered at the local level, revenues can be accurately predicted, and the tax burden is fairly equitably distributed.

For more information:

New Jersey Brownfields Program
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NJ Department of Community Affairs

The DCA Brownfields Program facilitates Brownfields redevelopment, promoting coordination among state agencies and maximizing the impact of state Brownfields resources and providing a forum for state Brownfields policy. This is where the planning, the regulatory programs, the financial and technical support, the infrastructure for redevelopment and other state incentives come together to work with Brownfields project managers, municipalities and counties to implement the best possible redevelopment as quickly as possible. The Brownfields Redevelopment Task Force, the NJ Brownfields Redevelopment Interagency Team (BRIT) and the state's Brownfields inventory (Brownfields Site Mart) are managed through this office.

For more information:

Redevelopment Programs
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Note: This program is only available to select municipalities. Read below for more details.
NJ Redevelopment Authority

The NJRA provides technical assistance to the 69 eligible urban municipalities and serves as a facilitator for municipalities, community groups and developers to access state resources and information. Brownfields remediation programs include:

  • Bond Program: The program provides qualified small issue bonds for acquiring, constructing and renovating capital facilities.
  • New Jersey Redevelopment Investment Fund: This flexible investment fund provides debt and equity financing for business and real estate ventures. Through the RIF Program, the NJRA is able to offer direct loans, real estate equity, loan guarantees and other forms of credit enhancements.
  • New Jersey Urban Site Acquisition Program: The program provides funds for the acquisition, site assembly and redevelopment of properties that are part of urban redevelopment plans.
  • New Jersey Pre-Development Fund: The program provides funding for pre-development costs associated with non-housing related redevelopment projects.
  • Environmental Equity Program (E2P): The program provides funding for site acquisition, remediation and demolition costs of Brownfields redevelopment projects in NJRA eligible municipalities.

For more information:

Smart Growth Planning Grants for Municipalities
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Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions

Through the Smart Growth program, ANJEC (the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions) will award 1-to-1 matching reimbursement grants of up to $20,000 to municipalities for local or regional plans, ordinances, studies or document reviews that protect natural resources and establish the land use patterns envisioned in the State Plan. Suitable projects include, but are not limited to, the following: natural resource inventories (NRI); open space plans and preservation programs; master plan conservation elements; brownfields or revitalization plans that include new open space; bicycle/pedestrian network plans; capacity studies including build-out analysis, septic capacity and groundwater supply; master plan and zoning ordinance revisions that incorporate smart growth concepts including clustering, downzoning, conservation design and transfer of development rights (TDR); critical areas protection ordinances for steep slopes, stream corridors, wellhead areas; planning tasks that help obtain Plan Endorsement from the State Planning Commission; planning that will achieve affordable housing within the municipality while protecting the environment; intermunicipal/regional plans to protect common resources (greenways, open space, etc.).

For more information: