Real Estate Journal — 2019 Forecast — January 25 - February 7, 2019 — 5D
www.marejournal.com
M id A tlantic
N ew J ersey O pportunity Z ones
By Michael Sylvester, EWMA New Jersey’s environmental regulations drive remediation projects
D
ue to economic volatil- ity and lack of sites available for develop-
will also create new risks and challenges to property transac- tions. Our SECUR-IT ® Guaran- teed Fixed-Price Remediation program is poised to increase as remediation projects come online. The SECUR-IT ® pro- gram combines business, insur- ance, and technical elements to manage risk and meet overall project goals. The program has played a key role in providing the certainty needed by lenders and investors to provide fund- ing to remediate and redevelop environmentally distressed properties. The SECUR-IT ® program often plays a critical
role during the sale of environ- mentally distressed properties, as both the sellers and buyers can rely upon the fixed cost pro- vided by the program and the fact that the cleanup is under contract to be completed. In some circumstances, SE- CUR-IT ® has proven to be the only way to bring all the parties to the table to move forward with a real estate transaction that involves an environmen- tally distressed property. The program provides predictable timing, budgeting and accurate estimation of return on invest- ment calculations. The main
benefit of the SECUR-IT ® pro- gram is the cap on remediation costs and limited environmental liability that it provides, which are needed by developers to ensure that their remediation costs are understood and fixed. Michael Sylvester is ex- ecutive vice president of EWMA. Sylvester is respon- sible for managing the day to day business operations. In addition, he is also re- sponsible for the overall management of EWMA cor- porate business planning and development efforts. Sylvester has over twenty-
seven years of public/pri- vate sector experience in the environmental industry and is recognized on both National and State levels as a leader in Brownfields. Sylvester participated as a speaker and/or panelist at numerous educational, marketing and Brownfields events educating attendees, including environmental consultants and county and municipal officials, on the various types of grant and loan funding available with regard to Brownfield redevelopment.
ment, I feel tha t deve l - opment will have its focus primarily in certain target- ed areas. New Jersey’s new Opportunity Z o n e s p r o -
Michael Sylvester
gram established opportunity zones in 169 census tracts in 75 municipalities. The qualifica- tion to become an Opportunity Zone comes from nomination by the state and has been certified by the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury through the Internal Revenue Service. Opportunity Zones were created at the end of 2017 and added to the tax code by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In cities like Hackensack, East Orange, and Newark, developers invest in Qualified Opportunity Zone Properties and place their capital gains in an Opportunity Fund, eligible to any taxpayer with no federal guidelines or limitations on who can manage a Qualified Oppor- tunity Fund. The tax incentives from doing this include capital gains deferred from taxation until exit from the fund, a reduction in capital gains tax liability, and new gains from the fund permanently excluded from the capital gains tax. Qualified Opportunity Funds can be invested in an unlimited number of Opportunity Zones. These projects produce a finan- cial return on investment and foster an environment of col- laboration between the investor and the municipality. The push for smart growth comes with New Jersey’s desire to redirect development to urbanized ar- eas in order to revitalize them, which includes re-using exist- ing buildings and developing new opportunities. Opportunity Zones are designed to increase attractiveness in business and real estate development projects in the communities that may need them the most, while in- creasing the potential to change the demographics of the area for the better. New Jersey’s environmental regulations will continue to drive remediation projects due to regulatory deadlines. I feel EWMA will continue to see steady growth and opportuni- ties in this area. New regulatory compliance requirements are tracking new threats, which
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