The statehouse in Trenton
By Joshua Burd
Residential builders seeking tax credits under the state’s relaunched Economic Redevelopment and Growth program can apply for the subsidy starting June 1, officials announced Tuesday.
The state Economic Development Authority is slated to award as much as $50 million under the previously expired program, which was rebooted by the newly enacted New Jersey Economic Recovery Act. That means residential developers can receive tax credits of up to 30 percent of total eligible project costs, under a program that was originally created to address financing gaps.
The EDA had previously stopped accepting new applications for the ERG program in June 2019.
“The decision by Governor Murphy and the Legislature to include $50 million for residential ERG projects will enable us to move much-needed shovel-ready housing projects forward now, while the new programs created by the Economic Recovery Act are being developed,” said Tim Sullivan, the authority’s CEO. “These projects will help to drive investment in the state while also creating good-paying construction job opportunities that will put people back to work and communities in New Jersey on a path to economic recovery.”
The new phase of the residential ERG program will be administered based on pre-existing regulations and statutes, as amended by the Economic Recovery Act, which added new prevailing wage and minimum wage requirements, the EDA said. Projects in five cities — Atlantic City, Camden, Paterson, Passaic and Trenton — are eligible for higher subsidies and can receive tax credits of up to 40 percent of eligible project costs.
The authority noted that ERG tax credits are not meant to replace conventional debt and equity financing, adding that applicants should generally have their primary debt financing in place before applying. For additional information and detailed eligibility requirements, including a clarifying document outlining all requirements and application review protocols for interested parties, visit https://www.njeda.com/economicrecoveryact/.
Specific questions can be directed to [email protected].
EDA details plan to relaunch residential ERG program with $50 million tax credit pool