Have A Need? NJBAC Can Help.

The NJBAC is offering no-cost technical assistance, training, and problem-solving – we are here to support all of your Business Enhancement needs. Whether you have a one-off resource question, are looking for a strategic assessment of a district, or could use some quick visualized tactical inspiration to foster visible and tangible change, NJBAC can help. Contact NJBAC Assistant Director Jef Buehler to start the conversation and move towards action.

Today’s email has information on assistance we can provide, as well as about technical and financial resources that may be a fit for your community or district.

Best Practices

1. Ever wonder what the traffic counts are in your district or community?  A free way to access the latest traffic studies by the NJDOT is found online at the Traffic Count Stations webpage. Use this information for your pedestrian safety and placemaking plans, but also as a proxy for some of the market potential for your districts and their businesses. Some of the studies break vehicle types down by class, so you can compare passenger, public transit, and truck usage to help make policy decisions based on your vision for that area.

2. Need a template for a short sponsorship pitch piece? Check out this one from Tallahassee Downtown. It does a nice job infusing real metrics with event and other activities impacts, tying them together with their main sponsorship opportunities.  This model could work for both district management entities and municipalities.

Featured Grants & Support

1. Want to Complete Your Streets? Take a look at this valuable technical assistance resource from Sustainable Jersey and the Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers that any community from Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren County may apply. But anyone across the state can take advantage of the Complete Streets Demonstration Library, run by the NJTPA. Put your ideas for safer and better looking streets and intersections into action with this free toolkit… and then use the results to move towards more permanent enhancements, if possible.

2. Commercial Cannabis Capital! NJ’s Cannabis Seed Equity Grant Program run by the NJEDA will provide up to 48 awardees with a grant of $150,000 and no-cost technical assistance, with applications reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants must meet the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission's criteria for social equity and have obtained a conditional license. A free eligibility assessment tool can help any business/individual determine whether to apply. The full webinar goes over all of the details.

3. NJ Historic Tax Credits for Building Rehab and Renovation! Also through the NJEDA, these funds can underwrite up to 45% of a historic project’s construction costs and relevant soft costs. To be eligible, a project must include rehabilitation of a structure that has been previously identified as historic by either the National or New Jersey Register of Historic Places (see this searchable map), the Pinelands Commission, or a fall under a Certified Local Government. Use the eligibility tool to clarify if there are steps to taken or if the property is already good to go. Applications are due on February 29, 2024.

NJBAC Can Work With All the Businesses in Your Community

We are here for your communities’ and districts’ businesses. NJBAC offers free online chat and telephone (800-537-7397) assistance in English and Spanish to any business in NJ – any size, any location, and any type. Our team can advocate for businesses, concierge them to funding and technical solutions, help them find locations for growth or developing export markets, guide them to navigating the commercial cannabis sector, and much more. Want to set something up online or on-site for your businesses? Reach out to NJBAC Assistant Director Jef Buehler to get plugged in to all of our business success services.