Transforming Neighborhoods

BY JEFFREY JONES

When New Jersey Realtors® moved its headquarters to Trenton, we set out with the goal to help revive New Jersey’s capital. What was once a bustling industrial city is now suffering from an abundance of distressed residential and commercial properties.

With help of the National Association of Realtors® Transforming Neighborhoods Grant, New Jersey Realtors® is funding a technical assessment of the housing system in Trenton in conjunction with the Center for Community Progress. The organization is a leading national nonprofit resource for urban, suburban, and rural communities seeking to address the full cycle of property revitalization. This assessment will identify underlying reasons abandoned or neglected properties are on the rise. Once identified, this assessment will provide a better understanding of what tools and opportunities exist to build a broad coalition of stakeholders that incorporates key community members who can help boost the city forward.

Currently, Trenton has more than 5,000 vacant properties, which make up nearly 20 percent of all properties in the city. Additionally, Trenton continues to have one of the highest local property tax levies in the state, due to high volume of tax-exempt properties, such as federal and county courthouses, hospitals, and churches. Because of this, residential and commercial redevelopment has been detrimentally impacted. Trenton also has some of the highest foreclosure rates in the entire country, which, combined with poor market conditions and low homeownership rates, results in Trenton’s historic inventory of abandoned properties. Through proper data utilization, issue areas can be identified, and policies can be enacted to combat them.

The grant will also fund educational sessions to teach the community and the city different strategies to manage revitalization efforts.

Resident-led organizations are key to making change and New Jersey Realtors® plans to engage and take them as partners in the next steps to strengthen the city. These organizations can help obtain real, accurate information on what residents are currently experiencing regarding the housing crisis and offer practical solutions.

It’s all about community-driven progress and New Jersey Realtors® is excited to be a part of that community.