As of August 16, 2021, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) has commenced accepting applications for commercial projects under the Economic Redevelopment and Growth (ERG) Program. The Commercial ERG Program is an incentive that is designed to assist developers and businesses address project financing gaps in development or redevelopment projects, including below market development margins or rates of return.
A link to the application and more information is available at https://www.njeda.com/erg.
Qualified projects are eligible to receive an incentive grant reimbursement of up to 30% of total “eligible project costs”. Moreover, projects in Atlantic City, Camden, Paterson, Passaic, and Trenton are eligible to receive reimbursements up to 40% of eligible project costs. Subsidies awarded through the ERG Program are not meant to be a substitute for conventional debt and equity financing.
Prior to applying, prospective applicants are required to have the balance of their funding identified or in place or be able to demonstrate that any terms of other financing are reasonable.
Among other requirements, projects must:
• Be located in a qualifying incentive area.
• Demonstrate that a project financing gap exists.
• Be predominantly commercial and contain 100,000 or more square feet of retail, office, and/or industrial uses for purchase or lease.
• Not have commenced any construction at the site of a proposed redevelopment project prior to submitting an application or demonstrate to the NJEDA that the project would not be completed otherwise or is to be undertaken in phases.
• Demonstrate the tax revenues the State will realize from the project will be greater than the incentive being provided.
Additional information on eligibility for the Commercial ERG Program can be found at the 2021 Commercial Extension Clarification Document at https://www.njeda.com/erg.
All applicants are required to submit an application via the NJEDA’s online application at https://application.njeda.com/. Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted or Thursday, December 30, 2021.
Duane Morris has an active team of lawyers who have been engaged in the review and dissemination of P-3, public private partnerships and incentives related alerts, blogs and advice on various P-3 and incentives related topics. Please see our website for a few list of all available articles and blogs.
If you have any questions or thoughts, please contact Brad A. Molotsky, Paul Josephson, Mike Barz, Nat Abramowitz or any of the Duane Morris lawyers you regularly engage with.
Be well and stay safe.
NJ – Governor Murphy signs $14B Incentive Program Bill – the NJ Economic Recovery Act of 2020
As of today, January 7, 2020, Governor Murphy has signed into law the NJ Economic Recovery Act of 2020 (the “NJERA”), a bill that creates a 7-year, $14 Billion Dollar package of tax incentives to attract and retain NJ based businesses and real estate development projects.
The 249-page NJEDA outlines new tax incentives to replace the expired NJ GROW and ERG programs and expands or creates new subsidies for film and television production, revitalizing brownfields and assisting so-called food deserts, among other areas, all while creating financial caps and oversight for the programs and the state agency that manages them.
Under the NJERA, most of the new tax credit programs are subject to a collective $11.5 Billion Dollar cap over 6 years, while allowing for a 7th year of allocations under those programs for uncommitted credits. The NJERA also provides for $2.6 Billion in tax credits over 13 years for projects related to film and television production.
A new office, the Office of Economic Development Inspector General will be created along with a chief compliance officer to manage a Division of Portfolio Management and Compliance to oversee the awards.
Under the new Emerge program, tax credits are available to encourage economic development, job creation and the retention of significant numbers of jobs in imminent danger of leaving the state.
Eligibility is subject to various provisions, including a requirement that the award of tax credits, the resulting capital investment and the resulting job creation or retention will yield a “net positive benefit” to NJ ranging from at least 200 to 400% of the award, depending on the location. Emerge also has minimum requirements and adjustments for the necessary capital investment based on the type of project, the size of the business, the types of jobs at stake and other factors.
Tax credits under both Emerge and a separate program, Aspire, are subject to a combined $1.1 Billion annual cap for 6 years. The NJERA also calls for the $1.1 Billion annual cap to be split so that up to $715 million of tax credits will be for projects located in 14 northern counties and $385 million for projects in 7 southern counties.
Aspire, the successor to the Economic Redevelopment & Growth program, or ERG, will provide gap financing to development projects that are intended to serve a public policy goal but which would otherwise generate a below-market rate of return. Additionally, the proposal outlines different provisions for commercial and residential projects, providing bonuses for those that serve distressed or targeted communities, along with transit-oriented development and affordable housing.
The NJERA would also allow the Economic Development Authority, which oversees tax incentives, to review each project’s performance and reduce the amount of the subsidy if it determines that the financing gap is smaller than determined at board approval. If there is no project financing gap, then the developer would forfeit the incentive award.
• Historic property reinvestment — providing tax credits for part of the cost of rehabilitating historic properties in the state, with a cap of $50 million annually for 6 years;
• Film tax credits — amending existing programs to include provisions for so-called New Jersey film partners and New Jersey film-lease partners and allowing an additional $200 million of tax credits annually over 13 years;
• Brownfields redevelopment — providing tax credits to compensate developers of redevelopment projects located on polluted sites for remediation costs, with a cap of $50 million annually for 6 years;
• Food desert relief — providing tax credits in order to incentivize businesses to establish and retain new supermarkets and grocery stores in underserved communities, with a cap of $40 million annually for 6 years;
• The New Jersey Innovation Evergreen program — auctioning tax credits for cash, which will be used to invest in startups and other innovation-focused businesses, with a cap of $60 million annually for 6 years;
• Community-anchored development — providing tax credits to anchor institutions to incentivize the expansion of targeted industries in and the continued development of certain areas of the state, with a cap of $200 million annually for 6 years; and
• Main Street recovery — providing grants, loans and loan guarantees to small businesses, with an appropriation of $50 million under the bill.
Duane Morris has an active team of lawyers who engage in the public-private partnership space where State based incentives are often critical to the success of a project. If you have any questions or thoughts, please contact Brad A. Molotsky, Mike Barz, Paul Josephson, Sheila Slocum Hollis, or any of the Duane Morris lawyers you regularly engage with.
Be well and stay safe.
COVID-19: NJ extends GROW NJ, ERG and HUB Filing Deadlines
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) has extended the annual reporting deadlines for businesses that received tax credits through the Grow New Jersey, Economic Redevelopment & Growth (ERG) and Urban Transit Hub (HUB) programs because of the impact of COVID-19, the EDA announced on April 13, 2020.
Per NJEDA’s announcement, under the extension, annual reports will be due 90 days after the EDA notifies businesses the restrictions imposed by Gov. Phil Murphy’s statewide stay-at-home order issued March 21 are no longer in effect.
Under existing rules for the Grow NJ and HUB programs, award recipients were required to submit an annual report 120 days after the end of the relevant tax period. Failure to submit the relevant report in a timely fashion results in forfeiture of the tax credit for that tax period.
Similarly, residential and mixed-use parking ERG approval letters require an annual report for a developer’s tax period within 120 days after the end of the tax period. Failure to submit this report in timely fashion results in the forfeiture of the tax credits for that tax period.
Per NJEDA, the ability to file on a timely basis was impacted last month, when Governor Murphy — through Executive Order 107 — announced the closure of all non-essential retail business, requiring all employers to offer work-form-home wherever practicable and directing all residents to abide by social distancing practices. The Governor has since announced subsequent containment measures.
About Duane Morris:
Duane Morris has created a COVID-19 Strategy Team to help organizations plan, respond to and address this fast-moving situation. Please see our COVID-19 site or contact your Duane Morris attorney for more information. Prior Alerts are available on the team’s webpage.
For Further Information:
If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact Brad A. Molotsky, Paul Josephson, or any member of our COVID-19 Strategy Team or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.