The Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program, which will provide a total of $300 million in incentive funding over six years, was approved by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority board on Thursday.
The program issues awards of up to 50% of remediation costs for eligible brownfield sites, up to a maximum of $4 million. It was designed to incentivize developers of redevelopment projects to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites throughout the state, bringing these sites back into productive reuse as an integral part of community development.
The redevelopment of brownfield sites is an important component of smart planning that will allow New Jersey to meet its goals for economic growth. The BRI Program will help promote the redevelopment of these contaminated sites for productive reuse.
“The Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program can unlock vast untapped economic potential contaminated sites can have after they have been effectively rehabilitated,” NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan said. “This program will be key to continuing to drive equitable community revitalization and growth across the state, achieving Gov. (Phil) Murphy’s vision for a stronger, greener, fairer New Jersey.”
“This program will open the door for new developments that will bring jobs and improve the environment in underserved communities that have been disproportionately affected by past pollution,” Murphy said in a statement.
Tax credits will be awarded through a competitive application process, which is set to open in upcoming months, to ensure the best projects receive state support.
The NJEDA has partnered with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to create evaluation criteria for a competitive application process.
To receive tax credits through the program, the developer must demonstrate that a financing gap exists. Parties that are in any way responsible or liable for the site contamination are not eligible for the program.
“Supporting the transformation of brownfields from hazardous sites into community assets that spur economic development and job creation is vital to our efforts to advance environmental justice in New Jersey,” DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette stated. “By taking a contaminated brownfield property and carefully remediating the site, the Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program will address community redevelopment in a sustainable way while supporting Gov. Murphy’s efforts to improve New Jersey residents’ quality of life.”
The Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program is part of a suite of solutions, including the Brownfields Loan Program and the Brownfields Impact Fund, designed to support development that transforms underutilized and contaminated spaces into community assets, with the goal of achieving a greener New Jersey.
