Business View Magazine | June 2019

247 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JUNE 2019 THE NEW JERSEY ECONOMI C DEVELOPMENT AUTHOR I TY Zones (GSGZs)—Atlantic City, Camden, Trenton, Passaic, and Paterson—as well as eight Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZs) with Main Streets as designated by the NJ Department of Community Affairs: Bridgeton, Jersey City, Millville, Mt. Holly, Phillipsburg, Plainfield, Salem, and Vineland. Within each municipality, the NJEDA can approve up to $100,000 in lease assistance per year for three years. To ensure the greatest possible impact, the NJEDA has coordinated with the relevant municipalities on specific areas of eligibility within the cities that are consistent with local redevelopment plans and fit into each city’s long- term vision. In addition to supporting small businesses, the NJEDA is also working to attract investment into New Jersey’s Opportunity Zones. In partnership with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority (NJRA), we are developing an online NJ Opportunity Zone Marketplace where qualified investors from around the country can identify eligible New Jersey projects for possible investment. The NJEDA, DCA, and NJRA will also partner to launch the New Jersey Opportunity Zone Challenge, a competitive funding program that will leverage community knowledge, skills, and abilities to boost local community-based capacity in financial and technical planning. The funding will help selected entities write plans to identify their specific needs, leverage local resources, and advance projects through the development process.  The Opportunity Zone Challenge follows on the success of Governor Murphy’s Innovation Challenge, through which the NJEDA provided grant funding to communities throughout New Jersey to develop plans to drive innovation at the local level. To date, the NJEDA has already awarded $100,000 each to 14 cities and counties, who are partnering with New Jersey colleges and universities to develop plans to take the next step toward building inclusive communities and innovation centers.  Governor Murphy’s economic plan also stressed the importance of brownfields redevelopment as an important component of smart planning that will allow New Jersey to meet its goals for economic growth while minimizing the environmental impact and sprawl that is the byproduct of new development. To help communities revitalize contaminated properties, the NJEDA Board approved the creation of a new Brownfields Loan Program that will provide low-interest financing to help complete cleanup of contaminated sites that are vacant or underutilized, paving the way for these sites to be put back to productive use. The Brownfields Loan Program complements the Governor’s proposed Brownfields Tax Credit, which would serve to close project financing gaps to revitalize underutilized industrial properties while incentivizing the preservation of New Jersey’s green spaces.  In addition to these enhanced brownfields resources, the NJEDA and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection have agreed to expand the Community Collaborative Initiative (CCI), placing DEP staff at the ground- level in targeted urban areas to provide expertise and support on brownfields redevelopment and