Salem–Asset Activation. THE REPORT.
Links & Exhibits
Due Diligence: BUILDINGS
Exhibits
Construction Permit Application 142-144
Construction Permit F170 142-144
Construction Permit Application 148
Finalized Permits for 142-144 and 148
Inspection Procedure for 142-144 and 148
Property Record Card 148
Architect’s Plans 1st floor 113 Market Street
Architect’s Plans 2nd floor 113 Market Street
Due Diligence: CITY
Exhibits
Timeline of rise and decline of Salem City Population
Map of City-Owned Properties in Salem City
Salem City Housing Ages from 1996 to 2007
Salem City Vacancy Rate for Housing from 2017 to 2020
People's Perceptions of Key Services That Are affected by Transportation Access
Salem City Median Household Income Decrease from 2017 to 2020
Salem County Municipality Population Changes 2010-2020
People in Poverty in Salem City
Salem County Political Affiliation as of Last Election 2020
Salem City Poverty Rate Increase from 2017 to 2020
Salem County's Prominent Religions
Historic Salem City Population
Salem City Unemployment Rates from 1996 to 2020
Unemployment Rate of Salem City
Resource Links
Community Assets:
Historic architecture - Market Street Historic District
Historic architecture - Broadway Historic District
Geographic location - rural market center
Salem County Historical Society
Riverfront - 150 acres available for remediation and reactivation
Wildlife Preserve - Salem County is home to 19 main preserves
Wildlife Preserve - Mad Horse Creek Wildlife Management Area
Wildlife Preserve - Abbotts Meadow Wildlife Preserve
Wildlife Preserve - Fort Mott State Park
Wildlife Preserve - Mannington Marsh Wildlife Refuge
Wildlife Preserve - Oakwood Beach
Wildlife Preserve - Supawna Meadows National Park
Salem Health and Wellness Foundation - contributed $58 million to 68 organizations
Forman Acton Foundation - funded and named after Forman Acton, offers the Acorn
Fund, Forman Scholars Program, and Forman Youth Board
Community Heart and Soul - brings community together towards a shared goal
County Court House - was expanded twice and was shifted to Salem City Municipal
Salem City Free Public Library
MLK Park - hosts community events and a Summer Concert series
Meals on Wheels of Salem County - serve the elderly and disabled populations with
several different services daily or weekly
Salem Community College - accredited in 1972, offers more than 30 programs in
glassblowing and arts and science and offer scholarships such as the
Community College Opportunity Grant and the Educational Opportunity Fund
Salem Friends Meeting House - longest active service of any church in state and host the
annual pot pie dinner every year
Fenwick Plaza - represents a creative placemaking initiative to create new energy and
Salem City Municipal Building is on West Broadway
Historic districts - Broadway Historic District was added in 1992 and Market Historic
District was added in 1975 and has 44 buildings
Salem Fire Museum - displays history and equipment and had renovations in 2002
Antique, Vintage, and Thrift - contains places like Royal Port Antiques, Market Street Treasures, The Arc Thrift Shop, and Suse-E-Q’s Cottage
Beauty and Personal Care - contains places like Ginny’s Hair House
Eateries and Coffee - contains places like Nellie’s Food Lounge, Salem Oak Diner, and
Professional Services - contains places like Henry D Young Insurance, Printers of Salem
County, and K&S Custom Designs
Amy “Hetty” Reckless Center - this place was built for Amy Reckless who was born into
slavery in Salem, NJ, and she made her legacy by improving education and
learning for blacks and working towards ending slavery and with a Lowe’s
Hometowns grant a center has been created
Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit (NRTC)
The Hires Ave Community Garden - was created to “to help clean-up the image of the
JC Penney Rehabilitation - was originally from 1924
67 W. Broadway Project - designed to help revitalize a 1752 house of Sarah Nicholson
Allen which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975
Salem Senior Village - is designed for 55+ year olds
JJ Operation Legacy Fundraiser
Zoning Review
C-1 Retail Commercial - C-1 zoning supports “local shopping needs” and can
support offices, schools, bakeries, and printing establishments
Historic Preservation - there is Historic Preservation Committee and an
opportunity zone in Salem City
Stress Factors Impacting City Leading to Impact on Main Street District/Properties:
Housing Deficit -
New Jersey has highest real estate property tax, Salem City had the
second-highest property tax within the state at 7.517%, was 3.732% in Salem
County and only 2.26% in New Jersey
Food Desert - forces lower income individuals to purchase less nutritious foods who
already face a multitude of disadvantages like poverty and unemployment. Salem
City’s 5,324 people is equivalent to the USA's population for a small town or
village. Non-seasonal housing vacancy rate of 2019 was 29.5%, nearly 3x the
vacancy rate in the USA in the second quarter of 2023 which was at 10.4%.
82.5% have at least a high school diploma as of 2020, even though 91.2% of the
USA as of 2022 has the same. 10.7% hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher from the
2017-2021 ACS and 37.9% in the USA hold at least a Bachelor’s degree. In terms
of income in 2019, Salem City had a median household income of $24,926 while
in the USA it was $70,784. Salem City’s unemployment rate is at 10.9% from
2019 while the Bureau of Labor Statistics and United States Department of Labor
recognized a 3.5% in 2023 for the country. Salem City’s poverty rate held at
42.2% in 2019 and the United States held 11.6% in 2021. Population estimates in
2022 determined a majority Black or African American population at 63.9% and
Hispanic or Latino population at 10.5% with the White population at 32.3%.
Since 2017 Salem City has become known as a food desert.
“Working on healthy food access issues might move beyond the term by adopting
an approach that focuses on a community’s assets rather than its deficits.”
Transitional Aid City -
Transitional aid is short-term gap financing.Salem City received $1,500,000 in
2021. Salem City received $1,400,000 in 2018, $1,500,000 in 2019, and
$1,500,000 in 2020. Some other municipalities that received transitional aid in
2021 consist of: Atlantic City, Camden, Nutley, Paterson, Penns Grove, and
“Targeting distressed places does more to solve these inequalities than blindly
dispensing aid.” “One way to measure the economic distress of a community is to
look at the prime-age employment rate, the share of people who have jobs and are
in the 25- to 54-year-old age category when most Americans are in their peak
working years.” New Jersey has a 78.5% prime-age employment rate in 2021.
Demographics:
Salem County - Access to public transportation is a critical key to a thriving community.
Salem City - “Population loss, or shrinking towns and cities, is a longstanding concern in
rural communities… Communities with declining populations, or “shrinking
towns,” face a contracting economy characterized by problems of unemployment
and poverty, increasing demands for social services with fewer dollars to pay for
them, an aging workforce, vacant properties, and a loss of historic structures.”
Half of the population struggles to provide basic needs for themselves. “...Poverty is often thought of as an individual or family issue: a condition of being low income, and oftentimes, dependent on public support to make ends meet. But poverty is also a spatial phenomenon. Numerous communities across the country have been poor for generations...These places do not just house poor people; they also seem to perpetuate poverty. Living in them can leave an indelible mark.”
State of New Jersey - “We now understand that the longer a child is exposed to a
high-poverty environment, the less likely it is that they will climb the income
ladder as adults…Where poverty rates are high, populations are generally
suffering on multiple fronts. In addition, poverty is highly correlated with a lack
of work. Nationwide, only 1.8 percent of working age individuals who were
employed full-time year-round landed in poverty in 2021, compared to 12.2
percent of those who worked less than full-time and 30 percent for those who did
Narrative of Growth and Decline:
Ancestry.com. The history of Salem County, New Jersey : being the story of John Fenwick's colony, the oldest English speaking settlement on [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
Original data: Sickler, Joseph S.. The history of Salem County, New Jersey : being the story of John Fenwick's colony, the oldest English speaking settlement on the Delaware River. Salem, N.J.: Sunbeam Pub. Co., c1937.
Salem NJ: https://data.census.gov/table?g=8610000US08079&tid=CBP2021.CB2100CBP
Median Household Income: https://kids.kiddle.co/Salem,_New_Jersey#Historical_buildings
Challenges:
Municipal Revitalization Index (MRI)
Urban Center in a Rural County
“America’s rural communities are critical to the success of our nation’s economy,”
Torres Small, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, said, “When we invest in rural communities, we build opportunity and prosperity for the people who live in them.” Salem City is a rural market center. Castillo, United States Economic Development Authority Assistant Secretary, added, “We are committed to working together to explore new ways to support and strengthen rural America. It is important that we equip communities with tools that are accessible and easily utilized to maximize the work of providing greater, inclusive economic prosperity across our country.”
Property Taxes
New Jersey had the highest property tax in the country in 2022. Salem had the second-highest property tax rate in New Jersey at 6.519%. This is compared to 3.476% in Salem County and a statewide average of 2.279% in 2020. In 2021, Salem’s tax rate was 7.258% (6.477% effective). In 2022, Salem’s tax rate was 7.517% (6.089 effective) but only 3.732% in the County and 2.26% in the state.
Salem City’s homes are valued much lower than similar communities.
APPENDIX
Resource Links
All studies/reports referenced
Resource A - 1984 Recreational Facility Plan
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Resource G - 2018 Waterfront Redevelopment Plan
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Resource H - 2018 Feasibility Study Discount Model (Grocery Store)
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Resource I - 2018 NJSRN City of Salem Final Report
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Resource J - 2020 Salem County Needs Report
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Resource L - 2022 Health Community Planning New Jersey website and report
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Resource O - 2021 Stanford Social Innovation Review Feature Philanthropy’s Rural Blind Spot
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Resource P - 2018 NJ Opportunity Zone Navigator
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Resource Q - 2021 Transitional Aid Application for Calendar Year 2021
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Resource R - 2016 Growth Management Element of the Comprehensive County Master Plan
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Resource S - 2018 Port of Salem Corridor Freight Rail Intermodal Study
*All resources that are not linked are not publicly available*
Salem City History Facts
Presidential Yachts - was kept and found nearby the Salem Port
It was southern and northern, agricultural and industrial, Republican and
Democrat, pretty and ugly, 20% lived in poverty and 15% made a good living,
and had a fairly level racial balance.
Salem Oak Tree - fell down after 600 years, but its memory is kept alive in Hopewell
Township and people were able to get leaves and bark from the tree as well to help keep its history alive and present.
Steeped in History
Market Street district and historic spots
Salem as a City - is a shrinking city, that received attention first from the New Jersey State
Resources Network under the Department of Community Affairs and could have potential with community development and economic growth and recovery
Glass - Ardagh Glass Factory closed in 2014, used to be most efficient but in 2018, Salem City was optimistic for a new tenant
Timeline of Population Increase and Decrease
Comparison to Other Communities - Salem City is the most poor town in New Jersey.
The Distressed Communities Index (DCI) put out by the Economic Innovation Group
ranked Salem City at a 96.8 distressed score.
Funding Sources
USDA:
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Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program in New Jersey
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Rural Economic Development Loan & Grant Program in New Jersey
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SEARCH - Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households in New Jersey
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Direct loans for low and very low income individuals whose household’s income cannot be more than 115% of the local area's but must handle closing costs
Philanthropic efforts:
Tools
Using sustainable strategies for economic development initiatives includes considering the physical resources, the skills that the community members hold, local volunteer organizations, resources of the government, and the local economic power. This helps with the bigger picture, lets the community take the driver’s seat, and is hinged on connections and relationships. Some methods include: participatory approaches development, transect walks, community street audits, and community mapping. The tangible results are a capacity inventory - or the asset list or asset map.
Mapping community capacity is a method that captures physical, economic, supporting, and community capacity through a windshield tour or other method, and breaks things down into primary, secondary, and potential building blocks, or assets, needs, and capacities. The goal is to create an asset map, include diversity of thought, and help identify gaps and needs.
Community centered economic inclusion makes structural and relational changes by
following the five main steps: where, who, why, what, and how.
Rural sustainable development follows the definition of sustainability and periodically
shifts from a traditional way of living and progresses in economic, social, and cultural conditions. It follows Egan’s wheel and is built in cooperation with nature. Most work is done by volunteers, but many communities could benefit from a support system and more mentorship. Agriculture is extremely pivotal such as fishing, forestry, hunting, rural tourism, rural sports, and countryside living. In fact, New Jersey and PA are part of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD).
Rural communities can experience serious problems such as poverty, hunger and lack of
employment opportunities outside of agriculture but sustainable development can help to lower poverty, encourage growth, increase food security, and benefit resource management with community participation.
The community capitals framework is focused on the 7 main forms of capital: social
capital, political capital, natural capital, human capital, financial capital, cultural capital, and built capital and gains an understanding of what a community needs and already has through a survey, sustainability balance sheet, or community capital scan to result in an asset map.
Case Study in Another Community
Atlantic City Chelsea neighborhood’s Madina Grocery and Produce in 2021
Social Enterprise and Social Entrepreneurship - based on social, cultural, and environmental principles and follows BIB mentality which stands for business, impact, and brand. Several examples of social enterprises:
Social enterprises or entrepreneurs do not change the world, but are sustainable, impactful, bring people together, consist of passionate individuals, create growth, and last for a long time. They can be neighborhood based, local, regional, federal, or global with great stakes at hand that blend traditional entrepreneurship with social and positive environments and impacts.
Extra Information for Salem City
How States Can Help Bring in Jobs
“Targeting distressed places does more to solve these inequalities than blindly dispensing
“If you want to help the (non)employed, create jobs where they live.”
Viewing Poverty as a Health Issue - poverty is described as a disease and health and economy are linked together in a message from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2021. Poverty expands beyond a limit on income, but also on capability and optimism.
The Trust for Public Land shows what percentage of individuals in a city live within a ten
minute walk to a park. Only 40% of Salem residents live within walking distance and 2
parks exist. Ensuring access to parks, making the parks health-promoting, using
partnerships and resources and involving transportation, planning, and sanitation
Water as a Concern - Resolved
There were many water shutoffs in 2023 occurring due to unpaid bills for 14% of water
customers. Salem City voted at a 60% in favor by residents to sell Salem’s water system
to New Jersey American Water for $18 million to help Salem minimize utility debts and
put more money back into the city, as the mayor stated and deal with issues with meter
readings since New Jersey American Water has committed to spend at least $50 million
in infrastructure improvements and maintain consistent pricing for year