New Jersey is putting up as much as $400,000 to support four separate projects across the state taking part in the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better Regional Challenge,” meant to economically and socially transform local communities.
At stake is up to $100 million in grants under the U.S. Economic Development Authority-run program, part of a $1 billion pool of funds that came out of the federal American Rescue Plan that President Joe Biden approved in March.
Each project would get a $100,000 grant from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, should it be picked by the federal government to go forward with the BBBRC program.
Applications for this first round are due Oct. 19, under which the U.S. Economic Development Authority would choose 50 to 60 winners that would get up to $500,000 in planning grants.
That’s where the NJEDA would kick in the added $100,000 to whichever of the four applicants make it to Phase 1, so that they could start applying for the much larger pool of money next March.
Those 20 to 30 winners in Phase 2 would get implementation grants of between $25 million and $100 million to physically set their plans into motion.
New Jersey Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan speaks at a press conference in Berkeley Heights to announce the expansion of fintech Fiserv Inc. in New Jersey, adding, 1,927 jobs to an already exisiting 1,063 jobs, on Sept. 30, 2021. – EDWIN J. TORRES/NJ GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
“The [BBBRC] is a unique opportunity for New Jersey to bolster our industry clusters to better address the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and identify a slate of transformational economic development initiatives,” reads a prepared statement from Tim Sullivan, who heads the NJEDA.
One coalition is based on aviation and aerospace in South Jersey around the Atlantic City Airport, with a focus on technology around air mobility, air cargo and uncrewed aerial systems.
A second coalition is being led by Rutgers University and will focus on how to build up domestic advance manufacturing for pharmaceuticals.
Rowan University will head the clean energy coalition, which will focus on how to build out infrastructure, workforce training and business acceleration for the state’s clean energy and offshore wind goals.
A fourth coalition is being led in Newark and focuses on “smart ports,” or revitalizing the city’s ports with the latest tech in the areas of clean energy, data analytics, freight movement, workforce development, better supply chain, and facility design
