[CPEO-BIF] First Brownfields Redevelopment Project in NJ is 'Open For Business

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First Brownfields Redevelopment Project in NJ is 'Open For Business'
EarthVision Reports

12/13/99 

TRENTON, NJ, December 13, 1999 - A new 285,000-square-foot shopping center
is changing the business landscape in Edison, NJ and creating 800 new jobs,
thanks to the state's Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program, Governor
Christine Todd Whitman said. 

"The Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program is a tremendous tool we
are using to increase prosperity and economic opportunity for New Jerseyans
who live in our cities," said Governor Whitman. "By redeveloping sites such
as Edison Crossroads, we are ensuring that New Jersey and its cities remain
ideal locations to live, work and raise a family." 

Created under the Brownfields and Contaminated Site Remediation Act of
1998, the Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program is designed to
provide financial incentives for developers to cleanup and redevelop New
Jersey's estimated 10,000 closed municipal landfills and polluted
industrial sites. 

According to a news release by the New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth
Commission, which administers the program, developers are encouraged to
enter into a redevelopment agreement that allows for the recovery of up to
75 percent of the clean-up costs undertaken at a contaminated site.
Eligible projects are required to show that the new state revenues to be
generated by the redevelopment project will exceed the amount to be
reimbursed. Eight different state taxes, from sales and use to corporate
taxes, are utilized to calculate the revenues generated by each project. 

"The Edison Crossroads Centre is the first project to be approved under our
Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program," said Commission Secretary
Gualberto "Gil" Medina. "This exciting new initiative is transforming New
Jersey's urban cores into attractive areas for redevelopment opportunities
which in turn will create viable centers of commerce and a wealth of
economic opportunities for New Jersey residents." 

This innovative land-recycling effort brings both economic and
environmental benefits to areas such as Edison. Located at a former
industrial site plagued by a myriad of contamination problems, the
Crossroads project has transformed an unusable site into a flourishing
retail center. 

Home Depot and Worldwide Floor Covering are the first tenants to open at
the new shopping center. Other tenants that will open for business by the
Spring of 2000 include: Edwards Super Food Store, McDonalds's, Applebee's
Restaurant, Petco, Ultimate Collision Repair and Liberty Bank. 

An estimated $4.5 million in new state tax revenues will be generated
annually by the project, while the real property value of the Crossroads
site is expected to rise from approximately $8 million to $31 million.
Cleanup of the site is estimated to be $1.5 million, of which $1.125
million (the full 75 percent allowed) is eligible for reimbursement. 

"The long term ripple effect of the project on the local and regional areas
in terms of job creation, economic development and the generation of tax
revenues is immeasurable," said Todd Normane, a lawyer at Maraziti, Falcon
& Healy, Short Hills, who represents Arc Properties of Clifton, the
developer of the project. "Essentially, job opportunities are being created
in areas where none existed before." 

"New Jersey is one of the most densely populated states in the nation,"
said Secretary Medina. "The Brownfields Redevelopment Program assists our
efforts to preserve one million acres of open space for future generations,
while at the same time rejuvenating our cities." 




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