![]() By: Dr. Colette Santasieri, Executive Director, NJ Brownfields Assistance Center @ NJIT Got Brownfields? There aren’t many municipalities in New Jersey that don’t have these former commercial and industrial properties that are either contaminated or perceived to be contaminated. NJ’s county and local governments and nonprofits now have a free resource to help them overcome the challenges brownfields pose to our communities. The NJ Brownfields Assistance Center @ NJIT is the first-of-its-kind center that solely focuses on and serves New Jersey. So why does New Jersey need a brownfield assistance center? Our state was a prominent leader in the industrialization of the United States. Our cities and small towns alike contributed to our industrial productivity. When New Jersey experienced an economic shift and urban exodus beginning in the mid 1950s, industries, factories, warehouses, mills, and rail yards that were once part of our state’s economic and historic fabric either moved out of state or became obsolete. Abandoned industrial sites, as well as soil and water contamination, remained. These sites, otherwise known as brownfields, are a byproduct of our industrial legacy. Additionally, the closed gas stations, dry cleaners, old banks, and other vacant commercial properties are also brownfields. New Jersey has always been a state with immense opportunities, and while these industrial legacy and commercial sites plague our communities, the redevelopment of brownfields are unique opportunities - to spur economic development, generate jobs, increase property values, reduce sprawl, and develop community needed land uses such as mixed use development, schools, recreational space, housing, and health care facilities, to name a few. Unfortunately, most local governments do not have the in-house knowledge or expertise to advance these sites through the assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment processes. Many communities have either no, or limited resources, including funding. These challenges are compounded by weak real estate markets being experienced in many of our communities. The process of assessing, cleaning up, and redeveloping a brownfield site can be complicated. That is why NJIT created the NJ Brownfields Assistance Center @ NJIT – to help communities overcome their brownfield hurdles, advancing these properties towards the redevelopment finish line. The NJ Brownfields Assistance Center @ NJIT’s team of planners, engineers, environmental scientists, and social scientists brings tools, strategies, resources, partnerships, subject matter experts, and education to brownfields-challenged communities to help transform these sites into community assets. The Center educates and engages communities about brownfield issues, provides free “help desk” assistance and guidance to any county government, local government, and nonprofit, and showcases successes. We partner with state agencies and the private sector to help advance the practice, build community capacity, and guide communities as they navigate the redevelopment process. In our inaugural year (2020), we engaged all of NJ’s county governments and almost 100 of NJ’s municipalities. We conducted brownfield learning labs, webinars, and virtual workshops for over 700 participants. We launched our Affiliate Membership program (https://www.njit.edu/njbrownfields/become-affiliate-member-today), and was the recipient of CIANJ’s Environmental Leadership Award for Cleaning Up Local Communities/Environmental Education. For more information about the NJ Brownfields Assistance Center @ NJIT, and to learn about our Affiliate Membership, contact Colette Santasieri, PhD, Executive Director, at [email protected]. For NJ county and local government entities and nonprofits seeking free brownfields technical assistance, contact [email protected]. Visit our website: www.njit.edu/njbrownfields; follow us on Twitter @njbrownfields
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