TRENTON ECO-INDUSTRIAL PARK
Trenton, New Jersey

Managing Entity : City of Trenton, Division of Economic Development
Contact Person' s Name: Jill Hallie Edwards
Address: 319 E. State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608
Phone: (609) 989-3509 Fax : (609) 989-4243 E-mail: trentonmakes@earthlink.net

Alternate Contact Person : Matt Polsky, NJ Department of Environmental Protection
Phone : (609) 777-0319 Fax : (609) 292-7340 E-mail: POLSKY@DEP.STATE.NJ.US

EIP's key features.

• Trenton's EIP will not necessarily be a physical place, but may be a network of businesses; firms won't need to be located next door to each other to participate; there will be a management structure to assist businesses with these linkages, matchmaking, and other technical assistance.
  
• Another key feature is the diversity of our Eco-Industrial Roundtable and the process it has undertaken to develop an EIP. The roundtable is a multi-stakeholder steering committee comprised of representatives from government, business, non-profit and educational institutions.
  

What constitutes success?

• Success will be creating new jobs for our residents, increasing tax ratabilities, utilizing our Brownfields sites, creating value-added products that generate additional money in our local economy.
  
• Success will be more easily measured in terms of economic development, but at the same time we will improve the environment through less waste, less pollution and cleaner industries being recruited. We also hope to position Trenton as a "green" city.
  
• Success may initially be determined by expressions of interest from developers and attention by the media for this unique form of industrial development.
  

EIP linkages.

• Bruce Herrick, Ph.D., a Roundtable member, prepared a working paper that outlines the Roundtable's progress to date and its plan of action. The report also lists the potential linkages that the Roundtable had brainstormed.
  
• Hired Cornell University Work and Environment Initiative to conduct feasibility study and baseline assessment. We will survey the businesses that already exist in the region and their processes, inputs and outputs. We will then determine what other businesses can build off of those.

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Recruiting process.

• We have produced one brochure on the project and recently sent out our first news release (our last Roundtable meeting was covered by a TV local Station and newspaper). We will continue a public relations campaign to attract business and developer's attention to the project.
  

Resources available.

• City of Trenton and NJ DEP - Contributing in-kind staff time to coordinate Roundtable activities. Also covers postage, photocopying and printing.
  
• DEP contributed $2,400 for preliminary Report.
  
• New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone Assistance Fund - $25,000 Grant
  
• United States Economic Development Administration - $25,000 Technical Assistance Grant.
  
• Application to United States Environmental Protection Agency - $100,000 Sustainable Development Challenge Grant.
  

Strategy to continue progressing.

• Roundtable has outlined a time line in its first work paper.
  
• Must complete baseline study.
  
• Must secure additional $50,000 to continue study.
  
• Must continue to increase the business and development community's interest as the planning proceeds.
  
• Must secure funding to set up management structure and hire manager(s).
  
• Must recruit businesses and work with existing business to development networks.
  

What is missing?

• Interim and periodic successes to keep the Roundtable going.
  
• An input/output analysis of existing industrial processes and potential new recruits.
  
• Determine the best "mix" for Trenton that will build off of our competitive advantages.
  
• Evaluation method to determine success and/or failure.
  

Goals for the upcoming workshop.

• Create network of EIPs for information exchange and to share leads on potential business opportunities.
  
• Learn what obstacles others are facing and how they are dealing with them.
  
• Find out what resources there are to help (grants, technical assistance).
  
• Learn how to identify potential businesses and recruit them.
  
• Learn about management structures and how to pay for EIP management.
  
• Learn What Project XL can do for us.

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Case Study Source: Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) Workshop, Cape Charles, Va., October 17-18, 1996.