For Immediate Release:Tuesday, September 2, 2020

$543,000 Awarded to 13 Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit Projects in New Jersey

Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today announced $543,000 in planning grants awarded to 13 community-based nonprofit organizations through the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit (NRTC) Program. The grants are designed to help eligible NRTC communities create neighborhood plans for their revitalization projects. 

The NRTC Program is aimed at fostering the renewal of distressed neighborhoods. NRTC offers business entities a 100 percent tax credit against various state taxes in return for their investment in revitalizing low- and moderate-income communities. 

“The NRTC Program helps turn the tide on some of New Jersey’s most distressed neighborhoods. The improvements that result from this program not only transform communities, they transform lives,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, who also serves as Commissioner of DCA. “These planning grants are the first step in moving community revitalization efforts from concept to reality and turning abandoned spaces into community assets. Governor Murphy and I are excited to see how this latest round of planning grants will help benefit neighboring residents.” 

In order for a community to participate in the NRTC Program, a community-based nonprofit organization must first prepare, submit, and receive approval from DCA for a revitalization plan for the neighborhood it serves. NRTC funds can only be used by the eligible organizations for projects and activities that will implement the goals and strategies of the DCA-approved neighborhood plan. 

Community-based nonprofit organizations with federal 501(c)(3) status in prospective NRTC neighborhoods can request up to $50,000 in grant funding to help them prepare a neighborhood plan. The total available funding for the NRTC Planning Grants Program is $2 million annually. 

NRTC planning grant funds may be used solely for costs related to preparation of a neighborhood plan. Eligible uses for the funds include:

  • Salaries/wages of agency staff involved with plan preparation, for the portion of work time that is applicable.
  • Consultant, approved by DCA, who may be retained to assist with plan preparation.
  • Other costs, whether borne by agency or consultant, that are directly related to plan preparation. 

The following 13 planning grants were awarded this month: 

Applicant Organization

Funding Amount

City

Neighborhood

Atlantic City Development Corp

$50,000

Atlantic City

Chelsea

Camden Lutheran Housing

$50,000

Camden

North Camden

Community Loan Fund of NJ

$50,000

Trenton

East Trenton

Greater Bergen Community Action

$50,000

Garfield

River to Rail

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newark, Inc.

$18,000

Newark

West and Central Village

Hands, Inc.

$50,000

Orange & West Orange

Valley

Isles, Inc.

$25,000

Trenton

Downtown

Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District

$25,000

Newark

Lincoln Park

Jewish Renaissance Foundation

$50,000

Perth Amboy

Greater Budapest

Norwescap

$50,000

Sussex Borough

Sussex Southeast

Norwescap

$50,000

Phillipsburg

Parnassus

Paterson Habitat for Humanity, Inc.

$50,000

Paterson

Northside

Parkside Business & Community in Partnership

$25,000

Camden

Parkside

 The NRTC Planning Grant application is available on-line via DCA’s System for Administering Grants Electronically (SAGE). DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources administers the NRTC Program and ensures that the corporate funding is allocated to non-profits for implementation of neighborhood revitalization plans. 

The NRTC Program is one of many federal and state-funded programs that DCA offers to assist municipalities in their neighborhood revitalization efforts. Other program offerings include Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which provide funding to municipalities to help with economic development, housing rehabilitation and neighborhood revitalization; the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP I & III), a federal grant/loan program that is designed to acquire, rehabilitate and sell foreclosed/vacant properties in targeted neighborhoods; the Neighborhood Preservation Program, which provides direct financial and technical assistance to municipalities based on strategic revitalization's plans within those municipalities; and the Main Street New Jersey (MSNJ) Program, which is part of the national Main Street America™ Coordinating Program that helps neighborhoods and communities across the country committed to creating high-quality places and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development.

Additional information about the NRTC Program can be found online by visiting: https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/nrtc.html

The mission of DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources is to strengthen and revitalize communities through the delivery of affordable housing, supportive services and the provision of financial and technical assistance to communities, local government and community-based organizations in New Jersey.

DCA was established in 1967 and today offers a wide range of programs and services, including energy assistance, housing vouchers, affordable housing production, fire and building safety, community planning and development, local government management and finance, and disaster recovery. 

 For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media:     

   DCa on Twitter

CONTACT:
DCA:
Tammori Petty
Gina Trish
Lisa Ryan
(609) 292-6055