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Ted Zangari

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Ted Zangari is a Member of Sills Cummis & Gross and is a Chair of the Firm's Real Estate Department.  Mr. Zangari also chairs the Firm's Government Relations and Public Policy Practice and its Redevelopment Law Practice.

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In our previous summary of the Aspire legislation approved by both houses of the State Legislature two weeks ago and now awaiting Governor Murphy’s enactment into law (click here to view the summary of Aspire 3.0), we noted the following with respect to the usability of Aspire tax credits:

State Buyback of Tax Credits: The Aspire tax credits are only usable against the Corporate Business Tax and insurance premium taxes. Should a project redeveloper be unable to use directly or sell its credits, the State Treasury will have the discretion to purchase such credits at a floor of 0.85 cents per dollar. (Note that many of the bills’ sponsors will be introducing legislation early in the new year that would obligate the State Treasury to be the “buyer of last resort” for unutilized credits—a step that would provide the certainty and predictability that many equity investors and debt financiers give considerable weight (if not require) in the course of the underwriting process.)Continue Reading Update on NJ Aspire 3.0

Redevelopers have always struggled to make the numbers work on their proposed projects due to the unique added expenses of redevelopment not typically encountered on “greenfield” new construction projects—costs of land assemblage, environmental remediation, and structured parking, to name a few. Project financing-gaps only widened during and following COVID, as inflation drove up the cost of labor and materials and the Federal Reserve launched a rapid series of interest rate hikes. Adding to the challenge, local incentives—specifically, long-term tax exemptions (PILOTs), even when coupled with redevelopment area bond (RAB) sale proceeds—have generally not been generous enough to make the numbers work.  As a result, even proposed redevelopment projects in tested, primary New Jersey cities have not always penciled-out.Continue Reading Breaking News: State Legislature Just Approved NJ Aspire 3.0

For the first time in nearly a quarter-century, the NJ State Planning Commission is making a concerted effort to update the State Development and Redevelopment Plan.  Today, the Commission released a preliminary draft of a new plan and set an ambitious timeline for adopting the document by the end of 2025.  Historically, the State Development and Redevelopment Plan has served as a guide to align state, county and local land use policies and objectives.Continue Reading Murphy Administration Releases Preliminary Draft of New State Plan (The First Since 2001)

Beginning on March 20, 2024, all property owners seeking to lease (including renewals) or sell real property in New Jersey, including commercial real estate, must make certain disclosures to potential tenants and/or buyers regarding historic and potential flood conditions on the subject property. Pursuant to the law codified at P.L. 2023, c.93, which was the subject of prior posts on this law blog, the disclosures must be made by property owners for all new leases, lease renewals, sales or exchanges of real property in New Jersey.Continue Reading UPDATE: Comply With New Flooding Condition Disclosures & Landowner Notification Requirements Beginning March 20, 2024 – Or Risk Losing Your Tenant Or Buyer

With just two days remaining in the two-year legislative session in Trenton, New Jersey lawmakers and the Governor’s Office are reportedly drafting compromise legislation for speedy passage tomorrow and Monday, which Governor Murphy is expected to sign into law in a matter of days. While the contents of the draft bill fall far short of the Murphy Administration’s proposed sweeping overhaul of the state’s alcoholic beverage laws, the revisions appear to be significant. NJ Advance Media has previewed the legislation and is reporting that it would:Continue Reading NJ Legislature Poised to Revise Restaurant/Brewery Liquor Licensing Laws with Two Days Left in Session

Governor Murphy today conditionally vetoed legislation that would have added yet another burden on commercial property owners.  The bill, A-4750, would have required the owner of every commercial property in the state—presumably affecting retail, office and industrial space despite the bill’s reference to the creation of a “storefront” registry— to notify the state’s Business Action Center (“BAC”) whenever a commercial space “becomes available” and “no person or entity is presently scheduled to lease or purchase the property.”  The property owner would have also been required to notify the BAC again when such space became re-occupied. Instead of an outright rejection of the bill, however, Governor Murphy suggested that the Legislature first allow for the BAC to study the issue that the legislation aimed to solve. In conditionally vetoing the legislation, Governor Murphy echoed the sentiments of my colleagues in this earlier blog post.Continue Reading Gov. Murphy Rejects Legislation Requiring Commercial Property Owners to Register “Vacant Space”

Since its launch more than two years ago, the New Jersey Aspire tax credit incentive program (“NJ Aspire”) has not been the deal-closing fund that redevelopers have so desperately needed. Thus far, NJ Aspire, like the “ERG” program which preceded it, has been unable to close, or even substantially narrow, projected financing gaps on most potential redevelopment projects across the state’s urban centers.Continue Reading Summary of the Revised “NJ Aspire” Redevelopment Incentive Program

Op-ed as seen on: ROI-NJ.com
By: George Jacobs and Ted Zangari

High on the list of antiquated regulations that are stifling competitiveness in New Jersey are those governing restaurant liquor licensing. So, kudos to Gov. Phil Murphy for being the first governor in modern state history to openly call for the overhaul of a system that for decades has prevented many restaurants from offering their customers the convenience of an adult beverage. The Murphy administration’s plan is to make restaurant liquor licenses less expensive and more readily available. Both are laudable goals, but the governor’s initiative has encountered resistance from an array of special interests, and legislators are now focusing more narrowly on the issue.Continue Reading Liquor License Issue Is 2-Part Problem: Here’s 2-Part Solution

Late last night, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) announced that proposed changes to the tax treatment of carried interest, strongly opposed by the commercial real estate industry, would be removed from the Inflation Reduction Act. This is the latest in a string of unsuccessful efforts in Congress in the last decade or so to change the…

Legislation was introduced in Trenton this week that would allow developers to opt for an expedited construction plan review program, pursuant to which an agency would have ten (10) calendar days to render a decision under the State Uniform Construction Code Act, N.J.A.C. 52:27D-119, et seq. The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Robert J. Karabinchak, would allow a municipal governing body to adopt a program requiring its construction code enforcing agency to conduct such expedited plan reviews at the request of property owners. In the event a municipality elects not to offer the optional program, the bill provides for the licensure and authorization of private plan review agencies to conduct such expedited plan reviews. The municipal enforcing agency would retain jurisdiction over projects, including the issuance of the certificate of occupancy, regardless of whether an expedited review is conducted by the municipality’s code enforcement personnel or a private plan review agency.Continue Reading Legislation Introduced to Establish Optional LSRP-Styled Municipal Construction Code Review Program