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 is Close on a New 6-Year, $11.5B Incentives Package designed to Attract and Retain Businesses
At long last, NJ is close to a détente between the Legislature and the Governor’s office on a new business incentives program designed to attract and retain businesses to NJ. The new recovery and reform package will be known as the “New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020,” or Assembly Bill 4. It is scheduled for a remotely-held bill hearing at the Assembly Appropriations Committee Friday, Dec. 18, at 11 a.m.
According to Tim Sullivan, the CEO of NJ Economic Development Authority, the new 6 year, $11.5B incentives program will focus on job creation, innovation, and helping to solve longstanding economic inequality issues.
According to NJ ROI, there will be an Assembly Appropriations Committee meeting Friday, with Assembly and Senate votes likely scheduled for Monday.
Some of the highlights of the program:
• Annual Cap – it will have an annual cap of $1.5 billion, with each of the programs having an individual cap;
• Per Jobs Cap and Per Business Cap – it will cap per-job credits and total credits per business — the previous program had no limits on either — and awards will be focused on high-growth industries;
• Transformational Projects – there will be an additional fund of approximately $2.5 billion for yet-to-be-defined “transformational” projects, thus giving the state the ability to offer massive incentives for Amazon-like projects;
• North/South Jersey – the program will include a North-South agreement, with approximately 1 of every 3 dollars reserved for the seven counties that make up South Jersey;
• Credits – it will include a food desert alleviation program, a state-level Historic Tax Credit, a brownfields remediation program and a program designed to support expansion of anchor institutions like higher education, hospitals and arts/culture institutions;
• Evergreen Investment – it will include the Governor’s Evergreen investment program;
• Main Street Businesses – it will have a $50 million direct appropriation to support Main Street businesses through grants, loans and technical assistance. It will do so with 25% being set aside to directly support minority- and women-owned firms; and
• Prevailing Wage – it will require community benefit agreements that include prevailing wage rules and new requirements for building service workers.
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 Announces $60M of Additional Covid-Relief Small Business Grants
On November 11, 2020, Gov. Phil Murphy announced a commitment of at least $60 Million in additional relief grants under Phase 3 of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s (NJEDA’s) Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program (SBEAG).
This funding is in addition to $70 M of funds already allocated for the current phase of the SBEAG program and will enable the NJEDA to fulfill grants for the entire pipeline of eligible businesses that applied for Phase 3 funding prior to the application deadline.
Without this additional funding, approximately 13,000 of the nearly 22,000 businesses that applied for Phase 3 grants would have been denied a grant given the amount of interest in the program.
Per NJ Business Today, the NJEDA’s suite of COVID-19 relief programs provides a variety of resources for businesses of all sizes, including grants for small businesses, zero-interest loans, support for private-sector lenders and CDFIs, and funding for entrepreneurs.
One of NJEDA’s relief programs is the SBEAG, which provides grants to small businesses impacted by the pandemic.
To attempt to achieve an equitable distribution of funds, the NJEDA set aside 1/3 of the funding for this program to support qualified businesses located in NJ Opportunity Zones. The goal of this new round of allocations is to help minority and women-owned businesses obtain some of the available grant funds.
According to NJ Business Today, more than 22,000 small businesses have been approved for grants worth more than $64.9 million through Phases 1 and 2 of the Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program. The average grant award has been roughly $3,000, which indicates the average approved business has three full-time equivalent employees.
Phase 3 significantly expands eligibility for the Grant Program and increases the amount of funding businesses can receive.
Eligibility – Any business or non-profit located in New Jersey, including home-based businesses, with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) is eligible to receive grant funding during Phase 3, including businesses that received funding in previous phases of the program.
Opportunity Zone Set Asides – To ensure funding goes to businesses hit hardest by the pandemic, Phase 3 sets aside funding for restaurants, micro-businesses, and businesses based in the state’s 715 Opportunity Zone-eligible Census tracts.
To date over $250 M of funding from NJEDA has been allocated to support small businesses with a significant focus being on restaurants, micro-businesses, and minority- and women-owned firms.
In addition to the SBEAG Program, the NJEDA administers a variety of technical assistance and low-cost financing programs for small and mid-sized businesses impacted by COVID-19.
More information about NJEDA’s programs and other State support is available at https://covid19.nj.gov.
Duane Morris has created a COVID-19 Strategy Team to help organizations plan, respond to and address this fast-moving situation. Contact your Duane Morris attorney for more information. Prior Alerts on the topic are available on the team’s webpage.
If you have any questions about this post, please contact Brad A. Molotsky, Elizabeth Mincer, Paul Josephson, Matthew LoBello or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.
Be well and stay safe.
COVID-19: NJEDA available sources of Funds and Loans for Businesses in NJ
Good morning and I hope you and yours are doing well and staying safe.
I came across a piece from the Southern NJ Chamber of Commerce that outlined the programs below and reminded me of the various non-COVID related programs that still exist and are open for assistance from the NJEDA.
Worth taking a look if you have a need:
* Micro Business Loan Program: Through this program, the NJEDA makes financing of up to $50,000 available to for-profit New Jersey businesses, which can use the financing for working capital or to purchase equipment. To ensure that the financing is accessible to the early-stage and micro businesses that need it most, to qualify, a business must have annual revenues of less than $1,500,000 in the most current fiscal year and cannot have more than 10 full-time employees at time of application.
* Small Business Fund: The Small Business Fund offers loans of up to $500,000 for qualifying creditworthy small, minority- or women-owned businesses in New Jersey with up to $3 million in revenue that have been in operation for at least one full year and may not have the ability to get bank financing. Not-for-profit corporations that have been operating for at least three full years may also be eligible for assistance under the Small Business Fund.
* Direct Loans: Direct loans are available up to $2 million for fixed assets, and $750,000 for working capital. New Jersey businesses in need of financing and committed to job creation/retention may be eligible for direct loans through the NJEDA when conventional financing is not available. NJEDA’s direct loan financing offers competitive interest rates and terms.
* Premier Lender Program: In partnership with two dozen banks throughout New Jersey, The Premier Lender Program offers up to a $2 million loan participation or $1.5 million loan guarantee for fixed assets, and up to a $750,000 loan participation or $1.5 million guarantee for term working capital. Line of credit guarantees of up to $750,000 are also available.
More details about each of these programs can be found on the NJEDA’s website at http://www.njeda.com/small_midsize_business.
NJEDA also launched a suite of programs specifically designed to address the COVID era challenges the outbreak has caused. These initiatives include grants, loans, guarantees, and support for entrepreneurs and community development financial institutions. The grant and loan programs are currently oversubscribed, but the NJEDA is actively seeking funding from federal, corporate, and philanthropic sources to expand them.
Small business owners seeking more information about any of these programs should visit New Jersey’s COVID-19 Business Information Hub at https://cv.business.nj.gov.
Duane Morris has created a COVID-19 Strategy Team to help organizations plan, respond to and address this fast-moving situation. Contact your Duane Morris attorney for more information. Prior Alerts on the topic are available on the team’s webpage.
For Further Information:
If you have any questions about this post, please contact Brad A. Molotsky, Paul Josephson, Jimmy Greenberg or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.
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.
NJ: NJEDA Announces April 13th – Application Launch Date for Loan Program for Small Businesses impacted by COVID-19
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) will launch the application for its Small Business Emergency Assistance Loan Program on Monday, April 13, 2020 at 9:00 am. A link to the program application will be posted on the State’s COVID-19 Business Information Hub. To provide business owners the opportunity to prepare to apply for the loan, a .pdf version of the application will become available on Monday, April 6th. The loan program is part of a package of initiatives announced last week to support businesses and workers facing economic hardship due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
A copy of the loan application will be available Monday, April 6, 2020, to provide business owners with the opportunity to prepare. Completed applications will be considered on a first come, first serve rolling basis. To see whether you might qualify for this program, use the NJ COVID-19 Business Support Eligibility Wizard.
The Small Business Emergency Assistance Loan program is designed to provide a direct loan of up to $100,000 to NJ-based small businesses and non-profits organizations that have been in existence for at least one-year and has less than $5 million in annual revenue. These businesses much have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak (including, but not limited to: reduction of business hours, complete closure of business, at least a 20% decline in revenue, employees unable to work, required to close by government, or disruption of supply chain).
Your organization is eligible for the Small Business Emergency Assistance Loan Program if you…
- Have a physical commercial location in the State of NJ. Home-based businesses are not eligible for this program. A home-based business is a business operated out of a residential property where commercial activity is not zoned to take place.
- Have been in existence for at least one year
- Have less than $5M annual revenue
- Can show a global debt service coverage ratio of 1.00 (as of December 31st, 2019)
- Are able to demonstrate negative impact related to COVID-19 on or after March 9th, 2020
- Are registered to do business in the State of NJ
- Must certify that the company is in good tax standing with the State
- Are in good standing with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, with all decisions of good standing at the discretion of the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development
- Are able to provide a CEO certification that the firm will make its best-effort to not lay off employees or will re-hire employees as soon as possible
- Non-profit organizations are eligible for this program; eligible non-profits must have status of 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(7)
Types of businesses not eligible:
- Related to gambling or gaming activities
- Related to the purveyance of “adult” (i.e., pornographic, lewd, prurient, obscene) activities, services, products or materials (including nude or semi-nude performances or the sale of sexual aids or devices)
- Auction or bankruptcy or fire or “lost-our-lease” or “going-out-of-business” or similar sale
- Traveling merchant
- Christmas tree sales or other outdoor storage
- Any other activity constituting a nuisance
- Illegal under the laws of the State of New Jersey
This program is structured specifically for entities facing economic challenges due to COVID-19 and provides low-cost and flexible terms, such as:
- 10-year term and amortization
- 0% interest rate (years 1-5), NJEDA’s prevailing interest rate floor (capped at 3.0% years 6-10)
- Deferred repayments for 12 months
There are no fees associated with the Small Business Emergency Loan Program for the first five years of the loan, including application fees, and then standard modification fees will apply.
About Duane Morris:
Duane Morris has created a COVID-19 Strategy Team to help organizations plan, respond to and address this fast-moving situation. Contact your Duane Morris attorney for more information. Prior Alerts on the topic are available on the team’s webpage.
For Further Information:
If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact Brad A. Molotsky, James Greenberg, Dan Mita or any member of our COVID-19 Strategy Team or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.
NJ – NJEDA – Small Business Emergency Assistance GRANT Program – opens Friday, 4-3-20 at 9 am
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NJ COVID-19 – NJEDA Launching a Jobs and Hiring Portal for Employers needing Employees
Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) will be launching a COVID-19 Jobs and Hiring Portal to help employers who have critical hiring needs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the first step is to gather details on employers’ immediate hiring needs.
NJEDA now has a live intake tool for employers with urgent COVID 19-related hiring needs to complete ASAP. Employers can access this tool in two ways:
- Through an online portal available at https://jobs.covid19.nj.gov/intake
- As an Excel spreadsheet that can be downloaded at https://jobs.covid19.nj.gov/intakeexcel and then emailed to covid19jobs@njeda.com.
Please note: if an employer is hiring for more than five positions or hiring for a specific position at more than five locations, it is recommend they complete the intake process using the Excel form.
Information can be found at the NJEDA website and the jobs.covid19.nj.gov sites. Be safe and check it out if needed.
NJEDA launches Opportunity Zone Challenge Program – Brad A. Molotsky, Esq.
On July 16th, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) launched its previously announced Opportunity Zone Challenge Program. The Challenge Program is a competitive $500,000 grant program aimed at supporting community efforts to attract investments in NJ Opportunity Zones. Grants awarded through the program will fund municipal and county-level financial and technical planning around Opportunity Zone (OZ) economic development.
The OZ program is a federal incentive program which was part of the 2018 Tax Act that enables investors to re-deploy capital gains into low-income areas (which are the areas targeted by the designated Opportunity Zones) via the use of a Qualified Opportunity Zone fund (QOF). These Qualified Opportunity Zone funds or QOFs may be self-directed and self-certified. Capital gains placed into these QOFs must then be invested into real estate or a qualified business within applicable opportunity zones that exist within all 50 states in the US.
New Jersey has 169 separate Opportunity Zones which span 75 municipalities across all 21 NJ counties.
According to NJEDA, the Challenge Program is intended to encourage and assist communities in developing specific action plans to guide their pursuit of Opportunity Zone–based investments. The Challenge Program will award 5 grants of up to $100,000 each to select municipal or county governments or municipal partnerships of 2 to 5 municipalities whose applications demonstrate a clear strategic plan to build investment capacity in their applicable Opportunity Zones. The Challenge Program grants are open to all 75 NJ municipalities and 21 counties.
As part of the application process, the applicants are required to designate at least one strategic partner whose external expertise will be used to achieve the Challenge Program’s goals.
Our team is available to answer applicable questions about the Opportunity Zone program and the Challenge Program. Brad A. Molotsky, Esq. (bamolotsky@duanemorris.com)