Addressing Vacant Properties in New Jersey
Communities struggling with vacant, abandoned, and deteriorating properties need to think strategically about how to acquire these properties or transfer them to mission aligned partners who will meet critical community needs. One answer to this problem in New Jersey communities is leveraging the Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act.
New Jersey Abandoned Property Rehabilitation Scholarship
Community Progress is pleased to offer free expert guidance and implementation support, valued at $30,000, to New Jersey municipalities seeking to leverage or strengthen their use of New Jersey’s Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act (APRA).
Two communities will receive this scholarship opportunity. These selected communities will show they are ready to strengthen local systems, build internal and external partnerships, and effectively implement vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) property tools. The engagement will focus on two powerful tools available under APRA:
- The creation and maintenance of an Abandoned Properties List, which can help communities systematically identify, prioritize, and address problem properties; and
- Receivership, a code enforcement remedy that allows municipalities to use court-appointed entities (receivers) to rehabilitate abandoned properties where an owner is unwilling to make repairs.
In addition to learning about these APRA strategies, participants will receive expert advice on addressing local VAD challenges, explore funding opportunities, and build connections with a national network of peers.
About the Scholarship
Selected municipalities will receive:
- Up to 125 hours of technical assistance from national vacant property experts
- Up to three scholarships to attend the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference—the only national event dedicated to tackling VAD properties and advancing community revitalization—this September 22-25, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- A two-day site visit focused on deeper conversations with local governmental staff, community partners, and other stakeholders
- A brief memorandum outlining key takeaways and recommendations
Scholarship Expectations
Selected municipalities will be expected to:
- Fully engage with the Community Progress team through participation in recurring project team calls, timely responses to data and information requests, and assistance with site visit planning.
- Attend the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference in Pittsburgh September 22-25, 2026.
Eligibility
This opportunity is open to any municipality in New Jersey. County government or other entity types are not eligible given the authority to leverage APRA exists at the local level.
Application Process
| DATE | |
|---|---|
| June 10, 2026 | Application opens |
| June 24, 2026 at 1 PM ET | Informational Meeting |
| July 7, 2026 | Application closes |
| July 10-20, 2026 | Virtual interviews |
| July 21, 2026 | Applicants informed of decisions |
Evaluation Criteria
Applications and virtual interviews will be evaluated using the following criteria:
- Evidence of municipal need for assistance in tackling VAD properties
- Municipal desire to implement tools available through APRA to address VAD properties
- Demonstrated municipal leadership support and interest in combating vacancy
- Alignment with the Community Progress mission and goals
Community Progress recognizes that municipalities may be at different stages of implementation and capacity. Communities are not expected to already have robust vacant property systems in place to apply.
Applications are due July 7, 2026 at 1 PM ET. Apply here »
Community Progress is pleased to offer free expert guidance and implementation support, valued at $30,000, to New Jersey municipalities seeking to leverage or strengthen their use of New Jersey’s Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act (APRA).
Two communities will receive this scholarship opportunity. These selected communities will show they are ready to strengthen local systems, build internal and external partnerships, and effectively implement vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) property tools. The engagement will focus on two powerful tools available under APRA:
- The creation and maintenance of an Abandoned Properties List, which can help communities systematically identify, prioritize, and address problem properties; and
- Receivership, a code enforcement remedy that allows municipalities to use court-appointed entities (receivers) to rehabilitate abandoned properties where an owner is unwilling to make repairs.
In addition to learning about these APRA strategies, participants will receive expert advice on addressing local VAD challenges, explore funding opportunities, and build connections with a national network of peers.
Throughout this two-year initiative, Community Progress and the Housing Community Development Network of New Jersey (HCDNNJ) worked alongside local partners and directly with community leaders interested in exploring land banks as a tool to advance local equitable revitalization goals in New Jersey.
This initiative focused on webinars and co-learning through interviews with stakeholders statewide in the summer and fall of 2023. In the winter of 2023, we invited communities to competitively apply for no-cost technical assistance scholarships exploring the utility and value of creating a local land bank to support equitable neighborhood revitalization.
In early 2024, Community Progress awarded scholarships to three communities: Atlantic City, Salem, and Plainfield.
Through the two-year initiative, we found a land bank could be a useful and impactful tool for some cities, particularly those with significant inventories of VAD properties that are causing harm to neighbors and neighborhoods. We also learned other cities are experiencing rapidly appreciating real estate markets and declining vacancy rates, which are trends to celebrate.
Communities that still have a large inventory of vacant properties need move strategically and urgently to acquire or compel the transfer of these properties to mission aligned partners who will revitalize these properties to meet critical community needs. Local context dictates which tools local governments should use to achieve this, whether that be by establishing a land bank to address widespread vacancy or leveraging the existing legal tools under APRA for more scattered vacancy.
Check out the following resources developed in support of the New Jersey Land Bank Launch Initiative:
- Webinar: Land Banking 101: An Introduction to Land Banks and the New Jersey Land Bank Law | Presentation Slides
- Webinar: Land Banking in New Jersey: Lessons Learned from Newark and Advancing the Field of Practice | Presentation Slides
- Land Bank White Paper
- Brief: Land Banking in New Jersey 101
- Brief: Enhancing Capacity to Repurpose New Jersey's Vacant Properties
- Memo: A Land Bank in Salem, New Jersey
- Memo: A Land Bank in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Questions?
If you have any questions about the New Jersey Abandoned Property Rehabilitation Scholarship, please contact Liz Kozub at [email protected].
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