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New
Jersey has long been a national leader in providing
incentives for commercial brownfield redevelopment.
But until recently, funding for the remediation and
redevelopment of brownfield sites for much-needed
recreation, conservation and affordable housing uses
had been scarce.
That
all changed in September of 2005 when the State’s
Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund (HDSRF) was
amended to support these initiatives across the
state. The amendments provide municipalities with
matching grants to remediate contaminated sites where
the end use is recreation/conservation or affordable
housing. Combined with the existing HDSRF grants that
cover 100 percent of any costs for the investigation
of a brownfield site being considered for all types of
‘redevelopment’, these matching grants provide exactly
what is needed to make hard-to-fund projects a
reality.
HDSRF Funds At Work
The
City of Newark assembled and acquired 9 acres of
former residential, commercial and industrial property
in the 1970s with the vision of constructing the
largest park in the City’s Central Ward. Due
primarily to funding constraints, the property sat
idle and abandoned until 2007, when the city received
a $3 million grant from the HDSRF program to
investigate and remediate the Nat
Turner
Park
site. That grant provided 100 percent of the funding
needed to investigate the environmental conditions and
a 75 percent matching grant for the actual clean up.
When complete, Nat
Turner
Park
will be Newark’s largest city-owned park and will
include a multi-purpose athletic field and
regulation-size running track. Other park amenities
will include an amphitheater, walking paths, a
multi-use community area, and a playground with a
‘spray and play’ feature. The streetscape surrounding
the park will be enhanced with new sidewalks, a
decorative metal fence, and plantings. Groundbreaking
is expected in early 2008.
In
2007 the City of Millville received the first HDSRF
affordable housing 50 percent matching grant in the
amount of $833,127. This award was for a remedial
action associated with the redevelopment of the
previously closed Eastern Landfill site and subsequent
redevelopment into an affordable senior housing
facility. The funding provided to the 85 unit
affordable housing project will assist with the
demolition of existing buildings, sheds and pavement,
and the construction of a new four-story mid-rise
building with associated paved roadways and parking
areas, utilities and landscaped areas. The project is
located in a designated “Smart Growth” area and will
provide amenities to meet the special needs of the
frail elderly. It has been registered with the United
States Green Building Council for
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
certification and is also following the New Jersey
Affordable Green program guidelines established by the
Department of Community Affairs. Groundbreaking is
expected in early 2008.
The
HDSRF program was established in July 1993 to help
business and property owners comply with the
provisions of the Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA).
The Brownfields Act of 1998 added the provisions
supporting brownfields redevelopment and created what
is arguably the most innovative and successful
brownfield incentive program in the nation. In
September 2005, the HDSRF program was expanded to
increase the availability of grants and loans to
public and private entities. At the same time, a $5
million pilot program was created for non-profit
organizations as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the
federal internal revenue code. These new programs
were made possible by a $40 million special
legislative appropriation in August 2003 and a
constitutional amendment approved in November 2003.
The amendment reallocated $50 million in excess funds
from the Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Fund to
the HDSRF program and dedicated a percentage of the
Corporate Business Tax to provide annual funding in
the range of $15 million to $20 million.
Municipalities are eligible for up to $3 million per
calendar year, and an additional $2 million per
calendar year is available if the property is located
within a DEP-designated Brownfield Development Area (BDA).
Municipalities are also eligible for grants covering
up to 75 percent of a site’s cleanup costs, regardless
of the planned use, if the property is located in a
BDA.
The
HDSRF program is a prime example of the partnerships
the state has created with municipalities to improve
our environment and create economic opportunity for
our residents. The program is administered jointly by
the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and
the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
Applications are available online at
http://www.nj.gov/dep/srp/finance/hdsrf, or may be
obtained by request from the DEP, Office of Brownfield
Reuse at (609) 292-1251.
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