‘Stronger Together’- New Jersey Economic Impact Report

Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI) was asked by the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey to contribute on their economic impact report, Stronger Together. The report was recently featured on WMBC-TV on Wednesday, June 17, 2015.

The report, titled, Stronger Together: The $12 Billion Impact of Community Development Corporations in New Jersey, was published last year and explores New Jersey Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and the value that they can add to New Jersey’s economy, in particular, in creating solutions for New Jersey’s affordable housing shortage.

New Jersey CDCs are non-profit organizations that work to revitalize their local communities. This includes the construction of new affordable housing, the building and reconstruction of small commercial spaces, and the creation of jobs, including offering job training.

The report findings reveal:

• Over 1,500 developments were undertaken by New Jersey CDC’s that generated a total economic impact of $12 billion.
• New Jersey CDCs have added 82,000 jobs and provided job training to over 10,500 local residents over the past twenty-five years.
• In the past twenty-five years New Jersey CDCs have also contributed $5.5 billion in worker wages and in contracts with local businesses and have employed 10,000 permanent staff members.
• CDCs are a $500 million dollar a year industry.
• CDCs directly invested $6.5 billion in New Jersey neighborhoods and added $320 million to state tax rolls.
• CDCs constructed and rebuilt over 21,000 affordable homes for New Jersey residents.
• CDC built over 5 million square feet of commercial business space for new and expanding small businesses.

For more information on the report in the news, click here.

For more information on the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, click here.