Another round of changes may be in store for the state’s Urban Transit Hub tax credit program, which would be amended under a version of the Grow New Jersey incentive bill up for review today by an Assembly committee.
The amendments would include extending the radius around the designated urban train stations — from a half-mile to a mile — in which properties could qualify for the development incentives, according to state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), chair of the economic growth committee. The new radius would apply to the nine train stations outlined under the original Urban Transit Hub law, he said.
The new bill also would make property around Newark Liberty International Airport’s rail station eligible for Urban Transit Hub benefits, according to the text of the legislation. The original law excluded the station, which is on the outskirts of the city and is abutted by large swaths of undeveloped land.
“It’s developable with some assistance, which is the whole purpose underlying this legislation and my previous legislation,” said Lesniak, who sponsored the Urban Transit Hub law. “It recognizes that the cost of bringing jobs into the state and building facilities in New Jersey is high, and that to compete with other states we need to provide tax incentives — particularly in our urban areas.”
The amendment to include Newark’s airport rail station was touted by Adam Zipkin, the city’s director of economic and housing development. In a prepared statement, Zipkin said the city has “worked hard for the last five years to attract companies and distribution centers to the area” around the airport and Port Newark.
“This change will help us build on those efforts to redevelop underutilized commercial properties into job-generating facilities,” Zipkin said.
The amendments would be tied to a bill establishing the Grow New Jersey Assistance Program, which would extend the state’s incentives to many suburban areas. The Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee was slated to hear bill at 2 p.m. today.
Grow New Jersey was passed by the Senate in late September, laying the groundwork for the state Economic Development Authority to offer incentives for underused suburban properties. But Lesniak said the version going before Assembly today includes a key amendment that would cap the tax credits available to a single project under Grow New Jersey at $40 million.
Lesniak said the provision would allow the EDA to spread its incentives across more projects, while also keeping urban and suburban regions on an even playing field.
“What I don’t want is for those tax credits to be more of an incentive for companies, so that it takes away from potential job growth in urban areas,” he said. “We want to try to have a balanced approach here.”
Development advocates have said the program could address fears among some that large tenants would leave their suburban homes for the incentives offered by urban transit hubs, such as Panasonic Corp.’s decision to pull its North American headquarters out of Secaucus after being awarded a $102.4 million tax credit to move to Newark.
