New Jersey Historic Trust Announces Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund Grants

  • Posted on: 01/9/2023

Application Period Open for $10 Million in Preservation Planning, Heritage Tourism, Capital Grant Funding, and Municipal, County, and Regional Planning

TRENTON, NJ — The New Jersey Historic Trust (the Trust) today announced that applications for the Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund grants are now available. Applications must be submitted by April 19, 2023.

The Trust, which is affiliated with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), will this year offer preservation planning; municipal, county, and regional planning; and heritage tourism (Historic Site Management) grants, as well as ‘bricks and mortar’ (Capital Preservation) grants. Eligible applicants are 501c non-profit organizations and units of county, municipal, or state government. Properties must be certified eligible for listing on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places by August 1, 2023, to be eligible to receive funds.

“New Jersey has a rich history and we want to continue to preserve it for future generations,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. “We are excited to make $10 million available to preserve historic properties, which play a key role in increasing tourism and economic development at both the local and state level.”

“This program is helping more sites become visitor ready,” said New Jersey Historic Trust Executive Director Dorothy Guzzo. “This in turn will bolster the state’s economic return from heritage tourism.”

Planning grants may be used for activities that assist in planning for the long-term stewardship, development, and successful management of historic sites, including developing preservation plans, engineering studies, or archaeological assessments. Heritage tourism initiatives may include visitor readiness surveys, wayfinding, and developing linkages between attractions. The Trust is also offering grants for municipal, county, and regional planning projects that are intended to foster sound planning and stewardship for New Jersey’s historic properties by developing local historic preservation ordinances, historic preservation components to a municipal or county master plan, architectural surveys, or design guidelines. The maximum grant request for planning grants is $75,000. The matching grant requires a $1 match for every $3 requested.

Capital preservation grants may be used for construction expenses related to the preservation, restoration, repair, and rehabilitation of a historic property and professional fees necessary to prepare and complete the construction project. There are two levels of capital requests.  At Level I, the maximum request is $150,000 and requires a match of $2 for every $3 requested. At Level II, the maximum request is $750,000 and requires a match of $1 for every $1 requested. All construction projects should be supported by previous investigations such as preservation plans or assessments. The Trust will again offer applicants the opportunity to apply for a multi-phase project to facilitate funding for substantially complex projects. In this category, the Trust may commit up to three years of funding at the $750,000 level, assuming all other requirements have been met.

Applications and guidelines are available on the Trust’s website: https://www.nj.gov/dca/njht/programs/preservenj/overview/

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the Grant Guidelines to determine if the proposed project is eligible for funding. Staff is available to answer questions at 609-984-0473 or njht@dca.nj.gov.

The Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund was established by legislation in 2016 after New Jersey voters approved a change to the state constitution to provide a stable source of funding for open space, farmland, and historic preservation by dedicating funds from the corporate business tax. The Preserve New Jersey Fund continues the work of the Garden State Historic Preservation Trust Fund (2000-2012) and the Historic Preservation Bond Program (1990-1997). Since 1990, more than $185 million in matching grants has been awarded to worthy historic preservation construction and planning projects throughout the state.

Created by the State Legislature, the New Jersey Historic Trust is a nonprofit historic preservation organization affiliated with the Department of Community Affairs. Governed by a 15-member board of trustees, the mission of the Trust is to advance historic preservation in New Jersey for the benefit of future generations through education, stewardship and financial investment programs that save New Jersey’s heritage and strengthen its communities.

DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, disaster recovery and mitigation, and information privacy.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media: 

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Contact:

Tammori Petty,
Lisa Ryan
ph#: 609-292-6055