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Report Shows Neighborhood Tax Credit Program Pays Dividends for NJ 12/19/2012 Every dollar in Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credits has leveraged an additional $7.30 in other investment, a report released today by the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey found. The report, entitled Transforming New Jersey Communities through Planning, Investment and Community Engagement, measures and documents the program’s impact across the state. A bill to increase the NRTC program from $10 million to $15 million per year has passed the full Assembly and is up for a vote by the full Senate on Thursday. "Expanding the program cap from $10 million to $15 million will allow PNC and other corporations to dedicate critically needed funding to neighborhood planning and revitalization efforts, and leverage those dollars with other resources," said Bill Best, senior vice president of PNC Community Development Banking. "We look forward to continuing to provide support in the future through this invaluable economic development tool." "This program is already one of the best, and most flexible funding sources available for advancing community planning efforts,” said Drew Curtis, community development program manager for Newark-based Ironbound Community Corporation. “Its expansion will allow so much more to get done for New Jersey's most distressed communities, such as here in Newark." According to the report, $48 million in NRTC dollars have been invested by 24 corporations since the program was approved in 2002. The program has helped create 1,265 homes, generated nearly $4 million in property taxes, and created more than 800 jobs, with another 400 in the pipeline. NRTC investments have allowed community developers to serve more than 3,200 youth, create 30 gardens, build 7 new schools, and engage nearly 3,000 people and 120 organizations in planning the future of their neighborhoods. "Asbury Park has seen great improvements largely due to the NRTC dollars invested in our community," said Patrick Durkin, director of real estate development for Interfaith Neighbors. "The Springwood Center mixed use building in the West Side of Asbury Park, has been a tremendous asset for our city. This building alone includes affordable rental units, a Senior Center for the City, a West Side work location for the Asbury Park Police Department, a job training center, a community café and a business incubator. We are proof that NRTC produces significant returns on investment." “Without NRTC, the Parkside neighborhood of Camden would not have the bright light of a retail/office building groundbreaking on the horizon,” said Bridget Phifer, executive director of Parkside Business and Community in Partnership. “We have been able to offer opportunities for construction and retail employment, expanded programming for job training, wellness and sustainability programs that will directly improve the quality of life of our residents, and also provide a public meeting and educational space for the community. NRTC funding has allowed PBCIP to create a model of transformative urban neighborhood development in the proving ground of Camden that can be replicated throughout the state.” "The NRTC program has made it possible to transform some of New Jersey’s most persistent pockets of poverty," said Mike Powell, vice president of the Paterson-based New Jersey Community Development Corporation. "This is the most pro-business way to rebuild distressed communities anywhere in the country!" The report, prepared in partnership with NJ Community Capital, is based on comprehensive surveys completed by NRTC recipients about their neighborhood plans, the NRTC investments they have received, the additional funds the NRTC dollars have leveraged for their projects, and the economic and other community outcomes that have resulted from investment. Along with New Jersey Community Development Corporation and Interfaith Neighbors, participants in the study included: Camden Lutheran Housing, Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen, Cramer Hill Community Development Corporation, Elizabeth Development Company, HANDS, Ironbound Community Corporation, Heart of Camden , Isles, Jewish Renaissance Foundation, Women Rising, Unified Vailsburg Services Organization, and Parkside Business and Community in Partnership. "We applaud the legislature for advancing the expansion of the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit Program and look forward to the bill being sent to the Governor," said Helene Pierson, executive director of Heart of Camden. "We urge him to sign it, so that we can build on the progress we are making. The dollars we are using from the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit are changing lives in our neighborhood. Expanding the NRTC program will allow us to continue leveraging the private investment we need to rebuild our neighborhood." To access Transforming New Jersey Communities through Planning, Investment and Community Engagement in its entirety, visit www.hcdnnj.org/publications. The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey is a member of Together North Jersey which is dedicated to strengthening our economy and improving access to jobs, great schools, safe neighborhoods, a healthy environment, and civic and cultural resources. To learn more, visit togethernorthjersey.com. For more information: Nina Arce Housing & Community Development Network of NJ (609) 393-3752 x12 [email protected] Twitter site: twitter.com/hcdnnj Facebook site: facebook.com/hcdnnj |
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