NJ Brownfields Assistance Center @NJIT: Invaluable Know-How with an Action Plan

The NJ Brownfields Assistance Center serves New Jersey communities by providing free training and guidance on how to get brownfields cleaned up for productive redevelopment. Their work includes assistance to community groups developing a strategy for moving local brownfields toward redevelopment, identification of funding and financing sources as well as guidance through the environmental regulatory process.

As a first-of-its-kind center solely focused on advancing NJ’s brownfield properties to cleanup and redevelopment the center provides many ways to take action to reclaim properties that when cleaned up and redeveloped are an asset as for the community as opposed to a liability. The center is funded by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and was founded in 2020. One initiative currently underway is a collaboration with Christopher A. Watson, City Planner for Newark, who is evaluating the best sites to remediate and develop.

Many local governments and nonprofits 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. The NJ Brownfields Assistance Center @ NJIT was created to help communities overcome their brownfield hurdles, advancing these properties towards the redevelopment finish line. We are a multi-disciplinary team of planners, engineers, environmental scientists, and social scientists that brings tools, strategies, resources, partnerships, subject matter experts, and education to brownfields-challenged communities to help transform these sites into community assets.

A new program the center recently launched is the NJ Brownfield’s Affiliate Program, designed to provide supporters a way to let the public know about this important work as they 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. If you or your organization would like to join other supporters you can read more about the program here.