CAFE — Cultural Arts Facilities Expansion
A New Jersey Economic Development Authority tax credit program for capital projects at arts and cultural venues. It matters here because Madison Asbury Retail applied in June 2025 for credits toward Convention Hall, the Paramount Theatre, and the Grand Arcade, and because on August 20, 2026, the NJEDA Board approved a $75 million award for that project.
The application
Application CAPP-00041528 and every attachment filed with it — ownership papers, narratives, building assessments, historic tax credit records, and funding sources — plus what NJEDA confirmed at its August 2026 Board meeting and what the public record still does not establish.
Open the fileHow the program works
The basics, who can apply, the adopted rules at N.J.A.C. 19:31BB, fees, awards to date, and how comparable cultural and historic projects have been financed.
Read the background- Applicant
- Madison Asbury Retail, LLC
- Buildings
- Convention Hall, Paramount Theatre, Grand Arcade
- Board action
- August 20, 2026 — $75,000,000 award approved, subject to conditions
- Related file
- Boardwalk Preservation Fund — the $13 million sub-grant counted as a committed funding source