Month: August 2024

On Wednesday July 17th, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (“NJEDA”) held its monthly Board meeting in Trenton. Among the actions taken, the Board approved its 19th project under the Aspire Tax Credit Program (“Aspire”).

The NJEDA Board awarded $21,794,281 in Aspire tax credits in connection with the development of a 46,417 square foot wellness center in Newark’s South Ward. The proposed development has a total project cost of $46,00,000. It is anticipated that the project will also utilize New Market Tax Credits and federal and local grants for funding.

Aspire Program

To date, the NJEDA has awarded over $2,000,000,000 in tax credits to 19 development projects in municipalities across New Jersey, including Newark, Hoboken, Union City, Woodbridge, Morristown, Bayonne, Trenton, and Camden. The program has been used to finance several large-scale projects, including the following:

• 386-unit mixed-use project in Hoboken, NJ.
• 58-acre, 1,567,385 square feet film studio in Bayonne, NJ.
• 101-unit senior affordable housing development in Union City, NJ.
• $356,000,000 mixed-use development in Newark, NJ, including 350 residential units, a new 53,000 square foot arts-education and community facility, 12,600 square feet of commercial space, and improvements to a 100,000 square foot performing arts center.

The Aspire Tax Credit Program provides tax credits covering between 50-80% of eligible project costs (not to exceed between $60M-$120M) for qualifying projects in eligible locations. Aspire can be used for both residential and commercial developments, and for projects as small as 25,000 – 50,000 square feet for commercial and $5,000,000 – $17,500,000 for residential, depending on location.

For more information, please contact:

Brendan Pytka
Director of Tax Credits & Incentives
Phone: (862) 418-3702
Email: bpytka@murphyllp.com

Chris J. Murphy
Partner, Chair of Tax Credits & Incentives Practice
Phone: (973) 723-7036
Email: cmurphy@murphyllp.com

Murphy Schiller & Wilkes LLP is proud to announce that multiple attorneys have been recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®️, including the following:

Matthew J. Schiller – Real Estate Law
Charles J. Wilkes – Real Estate Law
Susan C. Karp – Environmental Law

For more information, please click here.

Newark, NJ – August 5, 2024 – Murphy Schiller & Wilkes LLP (MSW) has expanded its Tax Credits & Incentives practice with the addition of Brendan Pytka.

Brendan Pytka has joined the firm as the Director of Tax Credits & Incentives. In this role, he will assist clients in assessing their financing strategy, and obtaining the necessary incentives to realize challenging and transformative real estate developments.

Brendan has over 15 years of experience in real estate development and finance. After graduating from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a focus on Finance, Real Estate, and Business and Public Policy, Brendan was a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions team at JP Morgan in New York and London. He then joined a local real estate development firm in Newark, New Jersey, where he was involved in over $100M in real estate development activity across a range of product types including office, residential and retail. Most recently, Brendan ran a consulting and research firm that assisted clients across the country in analyzing and executing their real estate investment strategies.

He has significant experience structuring complicated real estate transactions, incorporating various financing incentives, including Historic Tax Credits, New Market Tax Credits, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and incentives through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), including the Aspire Tax Credit Program.

As a boutique law firm specializing in commercial real estate and development, MSW has been creative in the services offered to clients. In 2023, the firm added Christopher Watson, the former Director of Planning for the City of Newark as the firm’s Director of Planning and Development Services. Offering these ancillary services within the context of a law firm has allowed clients to benefit from the knowledge and skills of non-attorney professionals working under the supervision of some of the top commercial real estate lawyers in the industry.

“Adding Brendan to our Tax Credits & Incentives group will provide a critical resource as our clients navigate government tax credits, incentives, and other forms of nondilutive capital in a difficult financing market. As a firm, we have been considered a leader in the tax credit space since launching 8 years ago. Adding Brendan to our already dynamic team is like throwing fuel on the fire. I am really excited to have him join the team,” says Chris J. Murphy, a founding partner of the firm and Chair of the Tax Credits & Incentives practice group.