By Joshua Burd
State officials have approved a $4 million grant to help the City of Trenton acquire a vacant hotel property that’s slated to be redeveloped under a proposed mixed-used project.
The funding, which the state Economic Development Authority approved last week, would support a proposal for 1 West Lafayette St. that would include new hospitality, residential and commercial uses. The property is currently home to the shuttered Lafayette Park Hotel & Suites, which the Trentonian notes was shut down in 2017 for safety violations, although additional details of the redevelopment were not immediately available.
The award was part of more than $17 million in funding across 12 applications that the EDA’s board approved on Nov. 18 under its Local Property Acquisition Grant Program. The authority noted that Trenton holds legal designations as both a government-restricted municipality and a transitional aid community, making it eligible for up to 100 percent of appraised property value costs.
“Since taking office, Governor (Phil) Murphy has been dedicated to boosting the economic prospects of New Jersey’s communities, creating jobs for local residents and generating vital tax revenue for municipalities,” said Tim Sullivan, the EDA’s CEO. “The projects supported through the Local Property Acquisition Grant Program will help advance local economic development initiatives throughout the state by transforming unused real estate into vibrant commercial spaces and community hubs.”
First approved in 2023, the competitive grant program aims to provide funding to municipalities, municipal entities, counties, county entities and/or not-for-profit local economic and community development entities for the acquisition of a vacant site, building, facility or collection of properties, according to a news release. With the funding, awardees may develop or redevelop sites with the intention of supporting local or regional economic development priorities.
Grants will support either acquisitions for strategic public use projects, including public plazas, parks and walkways, or acquisitions for future development projects, including commercial or mixed-use developments and research or laboratory spaces.
The other awards approved this month include amounts up to:
- $1 million for the Township of Verona to acquire a vacant property at 46 Lakeside Ave. to create a public parking lot
- $660,050 to the Town of Westfield to acquire a vacant property at 200 South Ave. West to create a pedestrian plaza and pocket park
- $483,400 to the Camden Repertory Theater Community Development Group to acquire a vacant building at 918 Broadway, with plans calling for a mixed-use project with performing and exhibition spaces, training and workshop facilities, office space and five units of affordable housing
- $1.548 million to the Carteret Redevelopment Authority to acquire vacant property at 1179 and 1235-1239 Roosevelt Ave., where plans call for a mixed-use development with commercial space and more than 200 residential units, including at least 20 percent affordable units
- $1.825 million to Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation Inc. to acquire a vacant property located at 14 North Mississippi Ave. in Atlantic City’s Ducktown neighborhood, which is slated to be a cultural arts center retaining the 200-plus seat theater while converting the upper floors for additional classrooms and teaching areas for music and choir lessons, hosting educational programs and art exhibits and offering concerts and performances
- $2.409 million to the Town of Clinton to acquire a vacant property at 19 West Main St. for a planned commercial development
- $2.601 million to Greater Bergen Community Action Inc. to acquire a vacant 24,000-square-foot, three-story building at 106 Somerset St., where plans call for a mixed-use, multipurpose building with office space, training rooms, community service programs such as Head Start and Adult Education and Training, as well as a credit union branch and a possible coffee shop for commuters
- $544,663 to the Town of Hammonton to acquire the 5,000-square-foot vacant former Peoples Bank and Trust Company/First Bank of Hammonton building at 15 Central Ave., in a project that would create a restaurant, retail or entertainment space following the town’s request for proposals process
- $703,000 to Ideal Education A NJ Nonprofit Corporation to acquire a vacant 20,000-square-foot building at 7 South Carolina Ave. in Atlantic City, where plans call for a community co-op food market and aquaponics farming facility
- $257,730 to the Institute of Music for Children to acquire a vacant property at 747 Westminster Ave. in Hillside, part of a planned expansion of its existing campus in Elizabeth.
- $988,500 to Paterson Habitat for Humanity Inc. to acquire a vacant 22-acre property at 26-32 Spring St., the site of a planned mixed-use project with 16 affordable housing units and childcare space.
