http://blog.preservationleadershipforum.org/2014/03/17/historic-tax-credit-matters-story-rebirth-revitalization-ohio/#.U0Q9A61dVYx
Hello Everyone:
Sorry we missed each other yesterday but I was invited to a Passover holiday lunch. It was a pleasant low-key experience. Some of the company left something to be desired but overall not too bad. Now onto today's topic, why historic preservation tax credits matter and the story of rebirth and revitalization in the state of Ohio.
 |
Parvis Lofts
Cincinnati, Ohio
photography by J. MIles Wolf
jmileswolf.com |
One of life's inevitabilities is death and taxes. However, taxes are the price we pay if we want safe streets, libraries, schools, and so forth. Tax-paying citizens around the world complain (often rightfully) about the unfairness of their country's tax code. Here in the United States, our dysfunctional Congress is attempting, yet again, to reform federal tax law. If you are are as dedicated to historic preservation and urban issues as I am, it might be worth your time to check out the very real consequences of the federal historic tax credits, which has resulted in the: revitalization of nearly 40,000 historic buildings, creating 2.4 million jobs, and leveraging nearly $109 billion in private investment since 1981.
Erica Stewart's blog post for the Preservation Leadership Forum, "Why Historic Tax Credit Matter: A Story of Rebirth and Revitalization in Ohio," Ms. Stewart looks at how the National Trust for Historic Preservation partnered with Heritage Ohio to report how the tax credit's history in the midwestern state, which outpaced all the forty-nine in historic tax projects submitted in 2013. The report profiles ten projects and detailed quantitative data and is intended to give tax credit advocates with real evidence to show that the credit is truly a generator on two fronts. First, it allows historic rehabilitation projects by providing essential financing; second, the ensuing project precipitates community revitalization. Ms. Stewart cites Heritage Ohio's chairperson Kevin Pape, the report features, "wonderful stories of renewed use that simply would have been possible without federal and state tax credits The credits leverage private investment in places that matter and harness Ohio's heritage to drive economic development where it is needed most." Problem? I didn't think so.
 |
Parvis Lofts North
Randy Simes
urbancincy.com |
One example of the federal tax historic tax credit in action is the Parvis Lofts in Cincinnati, Ohio in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. This rather charming looking loft-apartment involved the rehabilitation of ten dilapidated and abandoned buildings that once contained apartments and small businesses in the historically German community. Federal and state historic tax credits helped bring thirty-two market-rate lofts and almost 15,000 square feet of commercial space. The affects go way beyond the actual project-the lofts have become a mechanism for neighborhood redevelopment and economic opportunity. The apartments opened to great demand, reaching full occupancy within its first three months. The Parvis Lofts and other historic redevelopment projects the non-profit real estate development firm 3CDC
(http://www.3cdc.org) and the City of Cincinnati as well as others have significantly improved the quality of life in the Over-The-Rhine neighborhood. One tangible impact is between 2004 and 2012 the crime rate dropped by fifty percent. I'm pretty sure that there were other factors involved in this dramatic decline but you can't discount the effect revitalization has had on the community. The revitalization initiatives continue throughout the community.
 |
Mercantile Block c.2010
Hamilton, Ohio
badatsports.com |
The Mercantile Block in Hamilton, Ohio and the home district of Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner, presents a case study in the federal historic tax credit's usability in small cities. The credit made possible the rehabilitation of three commercial buildings located in one of Hamilton's historic district that contained three vacant buildings, threatened with demolition in the nineties. The City bought the buildings and after the first development effort failed, Steve Coon of Historic Developers, LLC successfully converted them into residential and commercial space. In the project's first phase, market-rate apartments were fully leased within three months of opening. The second phase featured an art gallery and a reopened atrium. The success of the Mercantile Block has spurred other rehabilitation projects in the downtown area, including the Hamilton Journal-News Building and Opera, and has Hamilton considering placing the entire downtown in nomination for the National Register of Historic Places. The Mercantile Block has brought three hundred new residents to downtown Hamilton, making it the second-fastest growing city in Ohio. According to Steve Coon, "If the historic tax credit program was not available in Ohio, I would not have been able to save and develop the Mercantile Building."
With these lovely examples in mind, why not send your representative an email and let him or her know that saving the Federal Historic Tax Credit is a bipartisan thing that will bring jobs and businesses to struggling communities.
Google+ http://plus.google.com/+LenoreLowen
Instagram- find me at hpblogger
No comments:
Post a Comment