ForumLOCAL: New Jersey
Bridging the Gap Between
Dollars and Digs
Lackluster infrastructure investment has left many of New Jersey’s
roads and bridges in serious need of repair, but how should the state
fund these upgrades when it’s facing an $11-billion deficit?
Last year, the American Society of Civil Engineers released its 2009 Report Card for America’s
Infrastructure—assigning a cumulative
grade of D to the nation’s infrastructure
and noting a five-year investment need of
$2.2 trillion from all levels of government
and the private sector.
For its part, New Jersey posted a
C-minus, yet both roads and bridges
received a barely passing D. This is bad
news for the real estate community, which
relies on adequate
public services
such as roads,
bridges, sewer systems and energy to
ensure a project’s success. What’s more, it
is virtually impossible for any business sector or community to succeed without the
right infrastructure in place, says Jonathan
Miller, partner and co-owner of Miller
Ryan LLC in New York City, and author of
the Urban Land Institute’s 2009 infrastructure report, done in conjunction
with Ernst & Young. He also authored
ULI and PricewaterhouseCoopers’ just-released Emerging Trends in Real Estate
2011 report.
“Economic travail and government
deficits distract attention from dealing
with the nation’s archaic and deteriorating infrastructure,” says Miller, who also
pens the regular TrendCzar blog on
GlobeSt.com. “Twentieth-Century interstates and insufficient mass-transit systems
can no longer support population growth
and commerce in many increasingly
clogged metropolitan areas. Financing a
