Neighborhoods
Revitalizing New Brunswick's Economy
Economic Development
Economic Development
A Neighborhood Initiative
We're creating new paths of economic mobility for residents.
Entrepreneurship and small business creation is a pathway to economic mobility for many low and moderate-income and immigrant households, and a key factor in neighborhood revitalization. NBT aims to help more aspiring entrepreneurs start businesses, and to support established small businesses to meet their needs and improve neighborhood commercial areas.
French Street Commercial Corridor
NBT, via our Esperanza Neighborhood Project, is focused on supporting French Street area businesses and partnering to transform their shared corridor, through enhanced marketing, technical assistance, and targeted deployment of beautification funds. The ultimate goal is to improve customer/resident perceptions, increase sales, and attract more outside visitors to this vibrant Latino district.
Mercado Esperanza
NBT has assisted in the creation and implementation of Mercado Esperanza, a flexible community marketplace celebrating the food, arts and culture of New Brunswick and its diverse Latino community. The Mercado Esperanza prioritizes the participation of local micro-entrepreneurs working to hone their skills and supplement primary incomes. This project also brought partner Rising Tide Capital to New Brunswick to conduct the Community Business Academy, an entrepreneurship training program for aspiring and existing business owners.
OUR IMPACT
volunteer residents participating
hours performed in community improvement activities
community clean-ups
residents satisfied with neighborhood
Citywide impacts due to resident advocacy:
workers gaining mandatory paid sick time
Municipal IDs issued
vacant properties rehabilitated
Completed cohort sessions
families graduated from FLA
collectively saved for future investment
personal goals completed
Within three years, NBT and our partners in the Housing Collaborative will have substantially impacted dynamics in New Brunswick’s housing market, particularly for LMI and immigrant families in Esperanza and Unity Square, by:
vacant properties registered by the City
of abandoned properties in Esperanza neighborhood rehabilitated or demolished
healthy home assessments conducted
NBT and its partners will have contributed to the growth of local entrepreneurs and small businesses by:
entrepreneur-participants in the Mercado Esperanza marketplace
graduates from the Community Business Academy
new community murals on the French Street corridor
ever French Street business directory and brochure
in funds committed to French Street façade grants
KEY ISSUES
- Immigrants to the U.S. are twice as likely to start new businesses as native-born persons, and represent a larger share of U.S. small business owners than their share of the overall population.
- French Street and its adjacent streets, for example, form a busy business district that is home to over 100 local businesses, ranging from authentic Mexican restaurants to clothing stores and much more.
- Complementing these establishments are the many uncounted micro-entrepreneurs, such as street vendors and home cooks, who sell their wares more informally, either as primary or supplemental income. These modern-day “cottage industries” help many low-income New Brunswick households to make ends meet. Particularly for undocumented immigrants, entrepreneurship provides a potential path to success beyond the low ceiling of opportunity available in the low-wage workforce.
PROGRAM
Partners
NBT partners with the following organizations to make this program available to the people of New Brunswick: Elijah's Promise and coLAB Arts
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