RESOURCE: NAIOP NEW JERSEY TO ANALYZE DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES AND KEY ECONOMIC GROWTH ISSUES
January 3, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Please consider Michael G. McGuinness of NAIOP New Jersey as a resource for insight into the following issues. As CEO of the commercial real estate developers association, he is uniquely qualified to discuss the impact of Grow New Jersey and other key incentives on New Jersey’s economic future.
Ongoing statewide discussion and media coverage has sparked many questions about development incentives and other key economic growth issues, such as permit extensions and water quality management planning reform. These initiatives need careful analysis from all perspectives.
In particular, the Grow New Jersey Incentive legislation (S-3033 Lesniak, A-4306 Coutinho) is a valuable job creation tool to be funded with unused credits from the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit program (UTHTC), which was created to spur growth at nine eligible transit hubs. While UTHTC projects are beginning to take shape, the program will expire in 2016. The NJEDA (NJ Economic Development Authority) will stop taking applications in early 2013. With commercial real estate showing signs of recovery, it is imperative to get maximum use of the entire UTHTC program before it ends. Grow New Jersey expands the use of these tax credits to other municipalities to attract and retain employers.
To compete regionally, nationally and globally, New Jersey must put parochial interests aside, utilize every economic development tool at its disposal, and support the creation and attraction of jobs. Our state continues to struggle with high unemployment, decreased tax revenues and extremely slow economic growth. Now is not the time to send already approved projects back to square one. Failure to extend the Permit Extension Act would be a huge setback to our nascent recovery. It would send the public and potential employers the message that New Jersey is moving backwards at a time when we should be doing everything possible to move forward to foster economic growth and new jobs.
Critical WQMP (Water Quality Management Planning) reform legislation (A-4335 Coutinho/S-3156 Sarlo) would simply ensure that sewer service and wastewater service areas would not be withdrawn and shall remain in effect while the stalled plan development process can be completed and workable rules can be introduced.
Media Contact:
Evelyn Weiss Francisco/ 201-796-7788 / evelyn (at) caryl (dot) com
