WELCOME
You have reached the full application page for the NJ Aspire Program, a place-based economic development program created under the Economic Recovery Act (ERA) of 2020.
The NJ Aspire Program supports mixed-use, transit-oriented development by providing tax credits to commercial and residential real estate development projects that have financing gaps.
The amount of tax credits a project is eligible to receive is a percentage of the project’s eligible costs, subject to a cap that is determined by the project’s location, other financing available, and other aspects of the project.
To be eligible for Aspire Program tax credits, a project must be located in an eligible incentive location, which may include: Planning Area 1, Aviation District, Port District, or Planning Area 2 or other Designated Center that is within a half mile of a rail transit station or a high frequency bus stop. Film production projects may be located anywhere in the state.
Projects must also meet minimum size and cost thresholds. Commercial projects must include at least 100,000 square feet of retail or commercial space. Residential projects must have eligible project costs totaling $5 million to $17.5 million depending on location.
Projects that meet certain parameters can qualify as “transformative projects” and receive tax credits above and beyond the caps that are established for standard projects. Transformative projects must have eligible costs of at least $100 million and be at least 500,000 square feet or up to 250,000 square feet for film studio projects. Transformative projects must also demonstrate special economic importance to New Jersey and leverage New Jersey’s mass transit assets, higher education assets, and other economic development assets to attract or retain employers and skilled workers.
“Developer” or “applicant” means a person who enters or proposes to enter into an incentive award agreement pursuant to the provisions of section 60 of P.L. 2020, c. 156 (N.J.S.A. 34:1B-328), including, but not limited to, a lender that completes a redevelopment project, operates a redevelopment project, or completes and operates a redevelopment project.
The full application requires detailed information and supporting documentation about your company, affiliates, and the proposed project for which you are applying for tax credits. Please be advised that the application fee is
non-refundable.
The application is broken down into 19 sections. You will not be able to proceed further into the application without completing all required fields and uploads within the current section. Progress on the application can be saved as you complete each section. At all times, you will be able to go back to sections that you have already completed.
This full application will take several hours to complete. Please read the prompts to questions carefully and provide professionally written responses that address all details requested in the questions in the suggested length of text.
It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you download a copy of the example application and collect written responses and required documents prior to filling them in on this online form.
It is also HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to use file naming conventions that facilitate rapid application completeness review.
Uploaded file names should:
- Be identifiably connected to the project
- Accurately describe file contents and application elements
- Denote date modified or file version number
In the event of any questions, please contact an Aspire team member at
Aspire@njeda.gov
