95. a. The owner and operator of a business facility located in the State may apply to the authority to have the business facility certified as a collaborative workspace under the program. A business facility shall be eligible for certification as a collaborative workspace if:

(1) the business facility is developed to provide flexible workspaces for early stage innovation economy businesses;

(2) the business facility is designed to encourage community and collaboration within an inter-connected environment in which multiple start-up businesses have access to shared workplace accommodations;

(3) the owner and operator of the business facility commits to hosting at least eight community events at the business facility each year;

(4) the owner and operator of the business facility possesses a tax clearance certificate issued by the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury;

(5) the owner and operator of the business facility possesses a business registration certificate issued by the Division of Revenue in the Department of the Treasury;

(6) at least five unique tenant or member businesses, in which the owner and operator of the business facility does not have a direct financial interest, have paid rent for space in, or access to, the business facility over the two years immediately preceding the submission of the application for certification as a collaborative workspace pursuant to this section or, if the business facility has been open for less than 90 days, the owner and operator of the business facility provides to the authority at least three letters of intent from prospective tenant or member businesses;

(7) the business facility is subject to ongoing operating costs, such as rent, mortgage payments, or internal corporate charge-backs, at the time of application for certification pursuant to this section;

(8) the owner and operator of the business facility offers at least one type of workspace at the business facility for rent by an early stage innovation economy business;

(9) the owner and operator of the business facility charges rent to tenants or members; and

(10) the owner and operator of the business facility certifies that any rent charged to a start-up tenant or member business is to be market-rate.

b. In addition to the requirements set forth in subsection a. of this section, for a business facility to qualify for certification as a collaborative workspace, the authority may, in its discretion and subject to available funds, require the owner and operator of the business facility shall commit to paying one month‘s rent for a start-up tenant or member business at the business facility for every two months of rent to be paid by the authority as a start-up rent grant under the program.

c. (1) The owner and operator of a business facility eligible for certification as a collaborative workspace pursuant to subsections a. and b. of this section shall submit an application for certification and participation in the program in such form as required by the authority. The application shall include any information the authority determines is necessary to administer the program.

(2) In evaluating applications for certification as a collaborative workspace, the authority may conduct site visits or perform any other investigation necessary to confirm any statement made in the application submitted by the owner and operator of the business facility. If the authority later finds that any statement made in the application for certification is inaccurate, then the authority may rescind its certification of the collaborative workspace.

d. Following approval of an application for certification, to participate in the program the authority and the owner and operator of a collaborative workspace shall enter into a grant agreement governing the terms, conditions, and timing under which the authority shall pay the start-up rent grant to the owner and operator of the collaborative workspace. The grant agreement shall require a collaborative workspace to share data concerning its participation in the program and on collaborative workspace utilization for the purpose of better program planning and the development of new programs to further support the State’s economy.

L.2020, c.156, s.95.