Elizabeth Development Company
Doing business in the City of Elizabeth has never been easier or more successful, thanks in large part to the Elizabeth Development Company (EDC).
The EDC was established in 1977 to serve Elizabeth’s economic development needs. The EDC is a public, non-profit economic development corporation with an independent Board of Trustees.
The EDC has won state and national acclaim for both its highly successful Urban Enterprise Zone and its innovative community development initiatives in the City’s Elizabethport neighborhood.
Working in cooperation with Elizabeth’s Mayor Chris Bollwage, the Elizabeth Development Company and its Urban Enterprise Zone program are the catalysts behind the City’s economic rebirth. Since its inception, the EDC has helped generate more than $1.5 billion in new economic investments in Elizabeth that have helped put thousands of area residents to work.
The EDC has been helping businesses succeed for more than 25 years by connecting them with the financing and development tools needed to make projects move quickly and efficiently from proposal to reality.
The EDC and its staff are well-equipped to support businesses – both large and small – with virtually all of their essential needs, including: site location, financial assistance, tax relief incentives, access to quality job training, employment placement services, and much more.
When it comes to building strong, viable businesses in Elizabeth, the EDC serves as the complete “one-stop shop.” Most recently the EDC has taken a more hands-on role in redeveloping the City. Projects where the EDC is the lead or co-developer range from the renovation of a landmark downtown commercial building to a major, mixed-use retail initiative in Elizabethport.
The City of Elizabeth
Welcome to Elizabeth, a destination for travelers, shoppers, investors, business developers, and homeowners alike - and one of the most prosperous cities in New Jersey.
In the past decade, Elizabeth has embraced an economic revitalization program like none other - one that is transforming its once abandoned waterfront into a shopping and business development mecca, and reaching into every City neighborhood to improve the quality of life for all its residents and visitors.
Cooperation and investment lie at the heart of the efforts that have established Elizabeth as one of the best places in the New York/New Jersey Region to do business, shop, and raise a family.
The City has worked hard to leverage hundreds of millions in federal, state, county and local dollars, which has benefitted public and private development initiatives. Acting as an economic development arm of the City, the EDC has helped in the revitalization of neighborhoods and the renovation of business districts.
Our unique location at the center of a vast network of transportation lines - an airport, seaport, roadways and rail - makes Elizabeth the most accessible City on the East Coast.
The City's award-winning Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) program offers major tax break incentives to businesses and developers, plus a reduced sales tax to retailers and their customers. Elizabeth's UEZ is a valuable tool for revitalizing neighborhoods large and small.
The quality of life in Elizabeth ranks among the State's best. The City is in the midst of a real estate boom that has seen property values climb and new construction soar. In fact, The Star Ledger newspaper reported the Elizabeth's average home sales price grew more than 175 percent in the past decades.
The ethnic diversity of our various City neighborhoods adds to the flavor of life in Elizabeth. The City relishes its reputation as a thriving urban center that still provides the comforts of suburbia with lush green parks, upgraded recreation facilities and charming neighborhoods.
Location. Transportation. Investment. Communities. Diversity. Cooperation.
The City of Elizabeth offers all of these things and more. We encourage you to find out how we can help you succeed in our great City.