New Jersey's governor wants to build a lot more housing, and she wants it to happen faster.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill unveiled a five-pillar plan to speed up housing production and bring down costs on Sept. 29 at the Governor's Conference on Housing and Economic Development in Atlantic City. The governor's office announced three moves right away: doubling the goal for new homes on state-owned land from 20,000 to 40,000, introducing a "shot clock" so permit applications move forward on clear timelines, and launching a new tax credit auction expected to generate tens of millions of dollars for affordable housing.
The plan was developed by the Housing Governing Council, which Sherrill created through Executive Order No. 17 during her first 100 days in office. A report from the council found New Jersey must build 350,000 additional homes to keep pace with growth, improve affordability and stay competitive.
"We need a new approach, and this plan sets in motion urgent statewide action—bringing together government, builders, labor, business, and community leaders—to speed up housing production, get shovels in the ground, and drive down costs," Sherrill said.
The five pillars
The plan centers on five goals: deliver more homes where people want to live, work and stay; increase the state's "speed to shovel" by making approvals faster, clearer and more predictable; partner with municipalities to build and preserve housing; expand access to housing for New Jersey families; and lower costs, fight unfair housing practices and keep residents housed.
The strategy calls for building near transit, jobs and schools, and for redeveloping underused state property, vacant office buildings and aging strip malls. It also focuses on preserving existing affordable homes, revitalizing downtowns, expanding paths to homeownership and protecting open space.
The administration pointed to work already underway, including new transit-oriented housing in Red Bank, Bayonne and Linden; a permitting dashboard tracking six projects that represent more than 3,700 potential homes; tripling the number of towns getting hands-on housing development help; fully funding the state's homelessness response system for veterans; and cracking down on unfair practices that drive up rents. More details are posted at housingcouncil.nj.gov.
Building on state land
The state-land piece builds on an existing effort. New Jersey Monitor reported that the report says between 37,200 and 42,800 homes could be developed on state property. It's an expansion of a 2024 program in which the Economic Development Authority bought NJ Transit properties for development. That program was expected to put up to 20,000 homes on about 800 acres of NJ Transit land and generate $1.9 billion for the agency over three decades. An inventory of state property found another 2,300 acres that might work for housing. A mixed-use project near Metropark Station in Woodbridge is already part of the program.
"We're doubling the number of new homes on state land. We're investing tens of millions in affordable and workforce housing, and we're getting shovels in the ground faster," Sherrill said at the conference.
Adam Gordon, executive director of the Fair Share Housing Center, called the announcement "a much-needed, whole-of-government approach to addressing New Jersey's housing crisis."
The Monitor noted that the council has previously said the state could need as many as 406,500 new homes over the coming decades. A Pew Charitable Trusts report released the same day found 28% of poverty in New Jersey could be attributed to high housing costs. Alex Horowitz, who leads Pew's housing policy work, said more supply could put downward pressure on rents, as it has in Austin and Minneapolis.
Why it matters for Contractors
A plan is not a project, but this one points the state's resources toward the things contractors build. Doubling the state-land goal to 40,000 homes means more public sites heading to developers over the coming years, and transit-oriented projects in Red Bank, Bayonne, Linden and Woodbridge are already in motion. The permit shot clock is the piece to watch most closely. Long, unpredictable approval times eat into schedules and budgets, and clear deadlines could make it easier to plan crews and lock in pricing. The tax credit auction and new affordable housing money should help more deals close, which means more jobs reaching the bid stage. Office-to-residential conversions and strip mall redevelopments also call for different skills than ground-up work, and contractors who know renovation and adaptive reuse may find plenty of opportunity.