A year after a landmark effort to secure the Permit Extension Act of 2008 — a law that lengthened the life of development approvals statewide — a group of commercial real estate industry leaders saw another opportunity in Trenton.
New Jersey was preparing to swear in a new governor and Legislature. For the coalition, it was a chance to weigh in with sweeping recommendations that could help the state navigate what had become a crippling recession. The group of professionals and trade association leaders did exactly that in late 2009, providing a playbook to the incoming Chris Christie administration that led to bipartisan overhauls of state incentive programs and other key reforms.