Right Building, Wrong Use: Renovating Obsolete Buildings with HTCs

Or is it wrong building, right use? When is a building a good fit for a new use and when can a new use be effectively inserted into an old building? The Secretary of Interior’s Standard 1 states, “A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment.” Fundamentally, Standard 1 means that the new use must fit the building. But, there is no conclusive literature about what is or is not an appropriate use for a historic building. There are many situations.