Sunset of State Tax Credit Could Impact Historic Redevelopment in the Triad

The Triad Business Journal has a nice feature article about the growing number of historic redevelopment projects in the Triad, and the potential impact if North Carolina’s tax credit program sunsets:

Developers in the 12-county Triad have worked on a total of 235 projects using state historic tax credits since the program began in 1998. That represents $32,285,317 in eligible investment, according to a Triad Business Journal analysis of research from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office.

With 165 projects representing $24,521,723 in eligible investment, Forsyth and Guilford counties combined represented more than half of those Triad projects…

None of those projects would have been possible without the use of state and federal historic tax credits, those developers say. But the state historic tax credits are due to sunset next year.

The state credits are on a cyclical schedule, with renewal required every couple of years. The credits have been renewed for a new cycle every time since their introduction in 1998…

Barry Siegal, co-developer of the Southeastern Building at 102 N. Elm St. in the heart of downtown Greensboro, said there’s no question the project would not happen without state and federal historic tax credits.

The building, which is nine stories tall and spans 100,000 square feet, has qualified for about $4 million in state and federal historic tax credits, said Siegal, who is developing the building with Willard Tucker. Demolition started earlier this spring, and construction is anticipated to take about a year to convert the building into retail, office and apartments.