June 6, 2019: Downtown New Jersey acts as an advocate for downtown commercial districts in New Jersey, tracking judicial and legislative issues that can affect the success of the state’s downtowns and then informing and educating members on these issues. Since our last Policy Watch, there has been movement on a few bills impacting downtowns…
May 30, 2019 – Over 50 professionals in downtown management, design, and development joined together to watch the Downtown New Jersey and NJTOD.org co-hosted panel discussion, Making TOD Real – Planning & Building Transit-Oriented Development in NJ.
May 17, 2019: For decades, New Jersey has experienced notable success with redeveloping many of its distressed areas by affording municipalities the ability to provide tax incentives to redevelopers (e.g. PILOTs). These incentives encourage redevelopers to accept the substantial risks and additional costs that come with most redevelopment projects – for example, the risk factor for unknown markets and the often-required construction of highly-amenitized, elevator buildings, and structured parking (at a cost of roughly $25,000 per space vs. $3,000 per space in a surface lot).
May 14, 2019: Byrne Plaza, located in the heart of Downtown Wildwood, brings the community together for events, fun photo ops and relaxation. Situated on Pacific Avenue, just two blocks from the famous Wildwoods Boardwalk, Byrne Plaza offers 60,000 square feet of outdoor space, with plenty of space for events. The beautiful new themed venue was designed by renowned architect Richard Stokes. It features outdoor sculptures of beach balls, vast greenery, and a covered amphitheater – perfect for hosting events.
April 30, 2019: The Town of Westfield, under the leadership of Mayor Shelley Brindle, has committed to leading a community-wide, collaborative process to reexamine its master plan to address issues of land use, transportation and parking, housing, downtown economic development, community facilities and historic preservation. The town wants a community driven plan, one that defines the vision that residents, business owners, and their employees have for the Town of Westfield, and therefore has established a comprehensive public engagement plan.
March 15, 2019: More than 20 downtown managers, economic development directors and non-profit representatives gathered at round table discussion in Newark on March 15th to exchange ideas about hot topics in downtown economic development. The topic for this round table was funding for facade improvements and other downtown beautification initiatives.
