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ASPIRE PROGRAM


Aspire is a gap financing tool to support commercial, mixed use, and residential real estate development projects that replaces the Economic Redevelopment and Growth Grant (ERG).

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for Aspire support, a project must:

  • Demonstrate through NJEDA analysis that without the incentive award, the redevelopment project is not economically feasible.
  • Demonstrate that a project financing gap exists and/or the redevelopment project will generate a below market rate of return.
  • Be located in a designated “Incentive Area.”
  • Include developer who has an equity participation of at least 20 percent of the total cost.
  • Result in a net positive benefit to the State.
  • Meet specific cost thresholds (for residential projects), depending on where the project is located.

Please be advised: New Jersey State law prohibits most cannabis license and certification holders from receiving or continuing to receive an economic incentive from the NJEDA. If the applicant, or any person who controls the applicant or owns or controls more than one percent of the stock of the applicant, has applied for or received a license or a certification from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC), the applicant is ineligible for this program and should not proceed with an application. If an application is received from an applicant that meets this criteria, the application will be declined and the application fee will not be refunded. 

PROJECT CAPS

  • 85% of eligible costs up to $120 Million for projects located in Atlantic City, Trenton, and Paterson
  • 80% of eligible costs up to $120 Million for projects located in Camden, East Orange, and New Brunswick
  • 60% of eligible costs up to $90 Million for LIHTC projects or projects located in a qualified incentive tract or enhanced area
    • Enhanced areas include: Jersey City, Newark, Elizabeth, Passaic, Hoboken, Paulsboro, Salem
  • 50% of eligible costs up to $60 million for all other eligible projects
  • Transformative caps are the same percentages noted above but up to $400 Million
  • Tax Credits are disbursed over a ten-year period. Certain projects in GRMs are disbursed either in five- or ten-year period

Baseline tax credits available
Tax credits equal to 50 percent of project costs up to $60 million

Bonuses

Newly constructed residential projects that are also utilizing four percent LIHTCs can receive tax credits up to 60 percent of project costs

Projects using LIHTC or any other project in a Qualified Incentive Tract (QIT), GRM, or municipality with a Municipal Revitalization Index (MRI) distress score of at least 50, can receive tax credits up to $90 million or 60 percent of eligible project costs.

FISCAL AND RESIDENT PROTECTIONS

To demonstrate local support for the project, the developer must have a letter of support for project from the chief executive of the municipality and must enter into a Community Benefits Agreement and also a Redevelopment Agreement with the project’s municipal governing body. 

APPLICATION

NJEDA is currently accepting applications for the Aspire program.

Consultation with Aspire program staff prior to beginning work on an application is advised because completing the application will require focused time and attention on the applicant’s part; because Aspire program eligibility rules are nuanced; and because application fees are non-refundable.

Aspire program rules are available here for review.

If you are interested in applying for the Aspire Program, please contact an Aspire Program team member at Aspire@NJEDA.gov

The application link can be found here.

FEES

Projects utilizing Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC)

Total Project Costs of $50 million or less (Non-LIHTC) 

Total Project Costs of greater than $50 million (Non-LIHTC) 

Projects Without Residential Units 

Total Project Costs not subject to Project Costs of $50 million or less 

Phased Project (Non-Transformative)

Transformative Project
(Fees are per phase)

Application Fee

$10,000

$30,000

$50,000

$30,000

$50,000

$75,000

$100,000

Approval Fee

$50,000

$50,000

$60,000

 $75,000

$85,000

$250,000

$500,000

Issuance Fee

$50,000

$50,000

$60,000

$50,000

$75,000

$250,000

$500,000

Non-Residential Issuance Fee

$75,000

$50,000

$60,000

 
$60,000

$250,000

$500,000

Annual Servicing Fee

$25,000

$30,000

$40,000

$40,000

$30,000

$100,000

$200,000

Modification Fee 

$10,000 (minor)
$30,000 (major)

$10,000 (minor)
$30,000 (major)

$20,000 (minor)
$30,000 (major)

$20,000 (minor)
$30,000 (major)

$20,000 (minor)
$30,000 (major)

$30,000 (minor)
$150,000 (major)

$30,000 (minor)
$300,000 (major)

Transfer Fee

$10,000

$10,000

$10,000

$10,000

$10,000

$20,000

$20,000

Extension

Fee

$7,500
(first 6 months)

$7,500
(each additional 6 months) 

$7,500
(first 6 months)

$10,000
(each additional 6 months) 

$10,000
(first 6 months)

$10,000
(each additional 6 months) 

$10,000

(First 6 months)




$10,000

(each additional 6 months)

$10,000

(First 6 months)
 

$10,000

(each additional 6 months)

$10,000
(first 6 months)

$15,000
(each additional 6 months) 

$20,000
(first 6 months)

$40,000
(each additional 6 months) 

Assignment Fee

$10,000

$10,000

$10,000

$10,000



$10,000

$20,000

$20,000

Termination Fee

$25,000

$25,000

$50,000

$50,000

$50,000

$50,000

$100,000

* Applicant is responsible for the full amount of direct costs of due diligence, including, but not limited to, debarment/disqualification reviews or other analyses by a third party retained by the Authority, if the Authority deems such retention to be necessary.

** All fees are non-refundable.

The full statutory text of the program can be found in sections 54-67 of the Economic Recovery Act of 2020.

Incentive Areas

Eligible “Incentive Areas” are areas designated pursuant to the “State Planning Act” P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-196 et seq.), as Planning Area 1 (Metropolitan), Port District, Certain designated Brownfield Sites over 100 acres with certified remediation costs over $10 million, or a Planning Area 2 (Suburban) or Designated Center under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan.  

Cost Thresholds

Minimum project costs for Aspire are based on the population of the municipality where the project is taking place.

Municipality PopulationMinimum Total Project Cost
Population < 200,000$10 million
Population > 200,000$17.5 million

Projects located in a Qualified Incentive Tract or Government Restricted Municipality have a minimum eligible project costs of $5 million.

Commercial Projects must be at least 25,000 square feet if in a GRM and 50,000 square feet elsewhere, except in the case of health care or health service centers shall contain not less than $10,000 square feet.

Transformative Project Criteria

Projects that meet certain criteria can be designated as “Transformative Projects.” These projects can receive awards up to $400 million or 80 percent of eligible total project costs for any transformative project located in a Government Restricted Municipality. Alternatively, 60 percent of total project costs it the transformative project receives LIHTC, or any transformative project located in a qualified incentive tract, enhanced area, or municipality with a municipality with a Municipal Revitalization Index score of at least 50, or 50 percent of total project costs for any other transformative project. Retail projects are typically not eligible for Transformative Project awards.

To be designated as a Transformative Project, the project must satisfy the following criteria:

  • Have a total project cost of at least $150,000,000; and
  • Include the following commercial projects:
    • 200,000 or more square feet of new or substantially renovated industrial, commercial, or residential space for a project located in a government-restricted municipality, exclusive of any parking component;
    • 250,000 or more square feet of film production uses, exclusive of any parking component;
    • 300,000 or more square feet of new or substantially renovated industrial, commercial, or residential space for a project located in an enhanced area, exclusive of any parking component; or
    • 500,000 or more square feet of new or substantially renovated industrial, commercial, or residential space for any other project, exclusive of any parking component;
    • No more than 50% of the square footage can be point of sale retail, including hotels.
    • Further, the project must create 500 newly created full-time jobs
  • For residential projects, the project must include one of the following:
    • The construction of 700 or more newly-constructed residential units; or
    • Is a mixed-use residential project with construction of 30,000 square feet or more of commercial space, exclusive of any parking component, and includes one of the following:
      • If the project is located in a government-restricted municipality, includes the construction of 200 or more newly-constructed residential units;
      • If the project is located in an enhanced area, includes the construction of 300 or more newly-constructed residential units; or
      • If the project is not located in a GRM or enhanced area, and includes the construction of 400 or more newly-constructed residential units.