TRENTON – In an effort to better utilize state-owned land, the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee advanced legislation sponsored by Senator Troy Singleton that would require the Division of Purchase and Property in the Department of the Treasury to develop an inventory of all underutilized real property owned by an agency, authority, or other instrumentality of the state, analyze the feasibility of using that property for other uses, and issue an annual report including the inventory and the aforementioned analysis.

The report that would be required by the bill would assist in the execution of efforts to develop, redevelop, or renovate underutilized government properties. In 2022, the Economic Development Authority (EDA) began a pilot known as the “New Jersey Asset Activation Planning Grant Program” to fund the planning of redevelopment and reuse of vacant or underutilized public assets. Last year, $100 million was appropriated for the EDA to begin purchasing such properties from NJ Transit, with the first phase of those purchases scheduled to close before Fiscal Year 2026.

“Whether it be underused parking lots at transit stations, vacant buildings, or entirely unused land, the state has plentiful and promising opportunities to put its properties to better use,” said Senator Singleton (D-Burlington), Chair of the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee. “By regularly identifying these properties and analyzing their feasibility for other uses, we can better take advantage of those opportunities, invigorate local economies, and have another tool in the fight against the housing crisis.”

The bill, S-4125, would require that the Division compile the inventory and an analysis of the feasibility of developing, redeveloping, or renovating the parcels of property included in the inventory into an annual report. The analysis included in the report would include an evaluation of all land use regulations and other site regulations applicable to the property and would categorize each property for other potential uses. The categorized potential uses would include, but not be limited to, use as low-income or moderate-income housing, use for provision of shelter or services for homelessness, use for provision of health services, or other human services.