In addition to design review from the National Park Service (NPS) and the state historic preservation office (SHPO), local landmark commissions may also have a say in how historic tax credit (HTC) projects are renovated. From the outside looking in, it may be tempting to assume local landmark review and the HTC process are two […]
News
The Next Big Thing: The Rehabilitation of Chicago’s IBM Building
July 2013
With the real estate market returning, albeit more quickly in some places than others, there are two noticeable trends. First, that hotel use is one of the more prominent and prevalent forms of adaptive reuse. And second, that there is increasing interest in modern post-war buildings.
A Different Kind of Education Reform: Reuse of Historic School Buildings
June 2013
For better or worse, we all have strong memories of the school buildings where we spent much of our youth. Similar to municipal, ecclesiastical and institutional buildings, schools have traditionally been viewed as centerpieces of communities and neighborhoods. They are where kids gather for learning, adults gather to vote and everyone has a story. The […]
Tax Credits as an Economic Revitalization Tool: National Park Service’s Report
May 2013
In January, then Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar joined Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., to host a meeting in Detroit that focused on how the highly successful historic tax credit (HTC) program could be used to spark development in communities that have faced significant long-term decline. Economic development, real estate and design professionals attended the […]
Historic Tax Credits: A Good Incentive for the Times
April 2013
With a number of lawmakers looking for tax loopholes to close, many in the historic preservation industry are nervous about the future of the historic tax credit (HTC) program. The Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia warns, “With our nation’s fiscal crisis demanding a reassessment of current tax policy, the historic tax credit is certain to […]
Revitalizing America One Storefront at a Time
March 2013
Over the years, the historic tax credit program has been a critical incentive in the rehabilitation of historic buildings and by extension, in the economic revitalization of America’s downtowns and main streets. According to the National Park Service, in its lifetime, the tax credit program has generated $62 billion in construction over 38,000 projects. In […]
Maximizing Historic Rehabilitation as an Economic Revitalization Tool
February 2013
As detailed in the National Park Service’s (NPS’s) 2011 Annual Report, the federal historic preservation tax incentive program is the nation’s most effective program to promote historic preservation and community revitalization through historic rehabilitation. Since its inception in 1976, the tax credit program has generated $62 billion in the rehabilitation of income-producing historic preservation.
Historic Tax Credits in a Modern World” Retail as Theater
January 2013
The heart of the historic tax credit (HTC) program is economics. In creating the current program, Congress recognized that preserving and rehabilitating older and historic buildings provided a social and aesthetic public benefit, but that incentives were needed because rehabilitation projects’ extra costs. In particular, changes to the tax code in 1981 had the undesirable […]
Due Diligence: The New Necessity
November 2012
In the recent past, developers often neglected due diligence in an effort to close deals. It was not uncommon 10 years ago for developers of historic tax credit (HTC) projects to skip this step, and the tax credit investors rarely investigated the project themselves. Due diligence is not a new concept, however. It is simply […]
America’s Endangered Properties: An Avenue to Potential Projects
October 2012
Throughout the United States there are thousands of historic properties ripe for rehabilitation or preservation. Many of these properties will be picked up by developers and find new life with the assistance of tax incentive programs as our downtowns revitalize. Other properties won’t be as lucky, as they may not be eligible for any financial […]
Twinning the HTC with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
September 2012
There was a time when constructing or renovating a building was generally a straightforward affair. Buy the land, find your equity, get your approval and build. While this outline remains, the simplicity of the good old days seems as dated as the typewriter. Today, even straightforward projects are complicated. Complex ownership entities, lengthy project review […]
Condominium Conundrum and Other Multi-Owner Property Issues
August 2012
By the mid-1990s the condominium market was gaining strength, military base closures totaled more than 350 installations and many mill renovations were under way. While many of these projects offered historic renovation opportunities, they also raised questions about the use of historic federal tax incentives on properties with multiple owners. When addressing these ownership issues […]
