NJ Brownfields Assistance Center @ NJIT

Brownfields redevelopment typically occurs under one of three scenarios:

Private-Led – this scenario occurs when a brownfield site is located in an area with high development potential, a strong market demand and developers can reasonably anticipate a return on their investment.
Public-Led – this scenario occurs in an area where private sector interest is lacking due to market factors, as well as site factors (i.e., parcel size and/or configuration) limit potential development options.
Public-Private – this scenario occurs when there is an agreement between at least one public-sector and one private-sector entity to combine each of their resources to achieve a goal that is beneficial to each of them.

Regardless of the scenario, there are three stages of redevelopment:

Pre-Development – Includes activities such as conducting due diligence, environmental analysis, identifying fatal flaws, development of pro-forma and purchase agreement, use of pro-forma to refine the site design, preparing redevelopment plan, identifying funding and financing sources, and acquiring environmental insurance.
Development – includes activities such as obtaining permits and approvals, site cleanup and preparation, marketing and pre-leasing activities, and construction and opening.
Management – includes activities such as holding the property (developer/owner assumes Operation & Maintenance responsibilities [O&M}), or the property is sold in which the purchaser assumes O&M responsibilities.

Some of the key players in the brownfields real estate development process include:

Property Owner
Developer
Equity Investor
Potential Buyers
Public Sector Stakeholders
Private Sector Stakeholders
Regulators and other Parties

For more information please follow this link Anatomy of Brownfields Redevelopment

Many communities new to the brownfields redevelopment arena have a tendency to become site-centric in their approach to the brownfield redevelopment process, focusing only on the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of that particular site. This narrow vision leaves out many critical elements of the redevelopment process, such as community engagement, that not only benefit the wider community, but help create the foundation and roadmap that inform the process and encourage a more equitable and inclusive outcome.

Brownfield projects typically have many working parts and are not necessarily linear in nature, therefore identifying project goals, and developing an action plan that includes solid comprehensive planning practices is critical to getting all these working parts moving in the same direction. There are a number of activities related to planning for a brownfield redevelopment that will play a role throughout the redevelopment process and they are typically the first tasks to be performed. These activities include:

Stakeholders, Partnerships & Engagement

Forming a Brownfields Task Force and Identifying a Project Champion

The first step in the planning process is the creation of a Brownfields Task Force - a multi-disciplinary group of people with a vested interest in the cleanup and redevelopment of a community’s brownfield sites. Its members bring multiple perspectives and resources to the table. The Task Force should include municipal officials from several different departments (such as planning, health, public safety, engineering), and representatives from environmental and economic development nonprofits, as well as community organizations. Choose a Task Force Chairperson who will serve as the community’s Brownfields Champion: who is thoroughly committed to the mission of the task force; has ample time to dedicate to the task force; and, is very organized. (for more information on creating a Brownfields Task Force click here).

Community Engagement

When developing a brownfields blueprint, community engagement should be a top priority, and a community should be engaged early and often, and the type of engagement employed to carry out this outreach should be tailored to fit a community’s particular set of circumstances. For further guidance please see COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Partner with Key Federal, State Agencies, and Other Assistance Providers

Many federal and state agencies such as USEPA, USDA, HUD, USEDA, NJDEP, and NJEDA provide invaluable resources, assistance, and funding to brownfield projects and the success of many brownfield projects depends on their ability to bring their assets to bear. Additionally, New Jersey communities can take advantage of free technical guidance from providers such as the NJ Brownfields Assistance Center @ NJIT.

Assess Where You Are At

Once you have defined your brownfields team, the next steps should include assessing where you are at. In many cases, brownfields practitioners have a tendency to become site-centric. They become so focused on the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment of the target site that they fail to look beyond its bounds and assess its context as it relates to the surrounding community and inadvertently sail off into troubled waters. Before approaching the community to obtain input, the brownfields practitioner should identify what the site conditions and constraints are, as well as what planning and investments, if any, have occurred related to the site itself. Typical site conditions and constraints to consider include the size of the site, site condition (i.e., vacant, overgrown), access, zoning, known contamination, utilities serving site, and environmental constraints (i.e., wetlands, water bodies, floodplain, and historic resources).

Planning and investments worth identifying would include: the municipal master plan as it relates to the site and surrounding area, site or neighborhood redevelopment plans, transportation plans (i.e., roadway widening, access ramps, transit service, piers, etc.), municipal investments to infrastructure related to the site and surrounding community (i.e., sidewalk repairs, water, sewer, pedestrian amenities, improvement district, supportive zoning changes, etc.)? If your focus area is larger in size than one or two sites, you may also want to see if the municipality has developed a brownfields inventory and/or has ranked the site through a site prioritization process. Having this information handy will serve as a solid foundation for engaging stakeholders, developers, and the community in creating a vision for the site and surrounding area.

Developing a Brownfields Blueprint

After assessing where you are, you will be able to identify what gaps you have for the development of your brownfields blueprint and can begin the process of engaging stakeholders, the community and potential developers. The jumping-off points for each individual community can vary greatly. Some communities have identified and are well aware of many of the elements mentioned in the previous section and are ready to hit the ground running, others have many of the elements but lack the capacity or knowledge to pull them together, and others lack the elements and the capacity. Regardless of where a particular community may fall on the “jumping off” spectrum, it can begin to create a vision for the brownfield project by engaging the community and stakeholders.

For more information please follow these Links:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Assessment Grants provide funding for brownfield inventories, planning, environmental assessments, and community outreach. An applicant may request up to $300,000 to assess sites contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum), and/or petroleum. These grants are provided on a yearly basis. For more information click here.
Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grants provide funding to capitalize loans that are used to clean up brownfield sites. An eligible RLF Grant applicant may apply as an individual entity or as an RLF Coalition comprised of two or more entities. An RLF Grant applicant may apply for up to $1,000,000 to address brownfield sites contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum), and/or petroleum. These grants are provided on a bi-yearly basis (every other year). For more information click here.
Cleanup Grants provide funding to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites owned by the applicant. An applicant may request up to $500,000 to address one brownfield site, or multiple brownfield sites, contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants (including hazardous substances co-mingled with petroleum), and/or petroleum. These grants are provided on a yearly basis. For more information click here.
Multipurpose (MP) Grants provide funding to conduct a range of eligible assessment and cleanup activities at one or more brownfield sites in a target area. An applicant can apply for up to $800,000 and should demonstrate how grant funds will result in at least:
One Phase II environmental site assessment;
One brownfield site cleanup
An overall plan for the revitalization of one or more brownfield sites, if there is not already a plan in place.

These grants are provided on a bi-yearly basis (every other year). For more information click here.

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) Grants provide environmental training for residents impacted by brownfield sites in their communities. An eligible applicant may apply for up to $200,000 per grant for eligible activities. These grants are provided on a yearly basis. For more information click here.
State and Tribal Response Program Grants. Grant money is available to assist small communities, Indian tribes, rural areas, or disadvantaged areas to carryout section CERCLA 104(k)(7) (by providing training, research, and technical assistance to individuals and organizations, as appropriate, to facilitate the inventory of brownfields sites, site assessments, remediation of brownfield sites, community involvement, or site preparation). These grants are provided on a yearly basis. For more information click here.

United State Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Rural Development Business Programs Funding is available for projects intended to help improve the quality of life in rural communities by enhancing economic opportunities and ensuring self-sustainability for generations to come. There are programs available for renewable energy, food supply chain, biodiesel, and various agriculture-related projects. For a listing of these programs, click here
Rural Innovation Stronger Economy Grant Program The Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) Grant Program offers grant assistance to create and augment high-wage jobs, accelerate the formation of new businesses, support industry clusters and maximize the use of local productive assets in eligible low-income rural areas. For more information click here
Rural Business Development Grants This program is designed to provide technical assistance and training for small rural businesses. Small means that the business has fewer than 50 new workers and less than $1 million in gross revenue. For more information click here
Business Industry Loan Guarantee This program bolsters the availability of private credit by guaranteeing loans for rural businesses.
- 80% for loans of $5 million or less
- 70% for loans between $5 and $10 million
- 60% for loans exceeding $10 million up to $25 million maximum. For more information click here
Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program This program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. An essential community facility is defined as a facility that provides an essential service to the local community for the orderly development of the community in a primarily rural area and does not include private, commercial or business undertakings. For more information click here
Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant The Technical Assistance and/or training will assist communities, Indian Tribes, and Nonprofit Corporations to identify and plan for community facility needs that exist in their area. Once those needs have been identified, the Grantee can assist in identifying public and private resources to finance those identified community facility needs. For more information click here
Rural Community Development Initiative Grants (RCDI) RCDI grants are awarded to help non-profit housing and community development organizations, low-income rural communities and federally recognized tribes support housing, community facilities and community and economic development projects in rural areas. For more information click here
Economic Impact Initiative Grants This program provides funding to assist in the development of essential community facilities (for example hospitals, medical clinics, childcare centers, town halls, museums) in rural communities with extreme unemployment and severe economic depression.
Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program This program provides loan guarantees up to $250 million to assist in the development, construction, and retrofitting of new and emerging technologies. These technologies are: advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased products. For more information click here
Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems & Energy Efficiency Improvement Guaranteed Loans & Grants The program provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. For more information click here
Multifamily Housing Programs Multifamily Housing assists rural property owners through loans, loan guarantees, and grants that enable owners to develop and rehabilitate properties for low-income, elderly, and disabled individuals and families as well as domestic farm laborers. For a listing of these programs, click here
Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants This program helps eligible communities prepare, or recover from, an emergency (chemical spill, pathogens, flooding, etc.) that threatens the availability of safe, reliable drinking water. For more information click here

United State Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes; utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination, and transform the way HUD does business. For more information click here

State Funding for Brownfield Grants

Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund (HDSRF) - Businesses operating in New Jersey, individuals, or municipalities that are required to, or volunteered to, perform remediation and/or cleanup of contaminated and underutilized sites may be eligible to secure financing through loans and/or grants under the Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund. For more information click here. and here.
- Up to $1 million in loans to businesses and individuals per calendar year.*
- Up to $2 million in grants and loans to municipalities.**
- Up to 25% of the project cost, not to exceed $250,000, in matching grants to businesses or individuals.
- Up to 50% of project cost, not to exceed $1,000,000 in innocent party grants to businesses or individuals.
NJEDA Brownfields Impact Fund - The Brownfields Impact Fund is a pilot program that will provide $800,000 in funding for loans to private developers, and loans and/or grants to public sector and non-profit entities to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites, assisting with the return of these vacant and underutilized properties to public benefit. Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Brownfields Impact Fund has been posted on the NJEDA website. The link to the online application for the Brownfields Impact Fund is available on the NJEDA webpage: https://www.njeda.com/brownfieldsimpactfund/
NJEDA Brownfields Planning and Assessment Services - Free Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, Preliminary Assessments, Site Investigations and/or Remedial Investigations provided through NJEDA-selected contractor, funded through the USEPA. For more information click here
NEW! NJ Asset Activation Planning Grant - This program will award grants of up to $50,000 to public, private, or non-profit entities, for early-stage planning and analysis that will demonstrate viability of projects that activate under-utilized public assets that benefit their communities and the regional economy. For more information click here
NEW! - NJEDA Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program - This program for the private sector offers 50-60% tax credits on remediation costs for redevelopment projects, up to $8 million. For more information click here.
NJ Infrastructure Bank - Water Bank provides low interest rate loans to qualified borrowers in New Jersey for the purpose of financing Water quality projects.
- Eligible entities include counties, regional authorities, municipalities, and water purveyors.
- Available to private entities (redevelopers) via conduit loans. Done as part of redevelopment plan.
- Typical Redevelopment project loan - 75% at AAA rate and 25% at 0% rate
- Very Flexible

For more information - https://www.njib.gov/njeit

The New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust is another public funding source available for brownfield remediation and redevelopment. Brownfield remediation projects are eligible for loans at one-quarter or one-half of the market rate. The Environmental Infrastructure Trust does permit the developer to participate in the loan process. For more information click here.

FREE Focused Assistance to New Jersey County and Local Governments and Nonprofits!

Who we serve

The New Jersey Brownfields Assistance Center @ NJIT provides FREE focused assistance to any New Jersey municipality and county government and nonprofit.

Who we are

The NJ Brownfields Assistance Center @ NJIT team consists of planners, environmental scientists, engineers, and social scientists. We provide a multi-disciplinary, holistic approach to solving brownfield issues in the State of New Jersey.

What we do

Develop your Brownfields Blueprint – a strategy for moving your brownfield toward redevelopment
Identify funding and financing sources
Guide you through the environmental regulatory process
Explain cleanup technologies
Educate and engage your stakeholders and community
Answer any questions you may have about brownfields
And much more...