OHIO DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCES HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAX CREDIT AWARDS
Columbus, OH – March 13, 2008 – Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher today announced 15 awards through the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, which awards refundable tax credits to owners of historic buildings who renovate and rehabilitate the buildings in preparation for commercial or residential uses. The Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program provides recipients tax credits equal to 25 percent of qualified rehabilitation expenditures. Ohio’s Historic Preservation Office determines that rehabilitation plans comply with United States Interior Department Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties.
“Many of these properties are the centerpiece of their community and are irreplaceable remnants of Ohio’s storied history. Preserving their integrity will help keep vital a number of one-of-a-kind properties that allow us to preserve pieces of our history as we continue to build for our future,” said Lt. Governor Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development.
The 13 recipients announced today, combined with two additional projects approved upon reconsideration, will invest more than $386 million to rehabilitate historic buildings for re-development. To date, 115 applications for the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program have been submitted. Reconsideration is part of the administrative process available for applications not approved upon initial review.
A list of the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit recipients announced today follows:
- The Gothic Building (Akron, Summit County)
Total project investment: $1.5 million
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $1.3 million
Total estimated value of credit: $325,000 - Ford Motor Co. (Cleveland Institute of Art) (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Total project investment: $54,285,900
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $22,707,000
Total estimated value of credit: $5,676,750 - Continental Baking Company (Toledo, Lucas County)
Total project investment: $3,678,500
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $2,226,000
Total estimated value of credit: $556,500 - The Swetland Building (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Total project investment: $16,547,618
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $3,585,400
Total estimated value of credit: $896,350 - Cleveland Trust Company (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Total project investment: $6,050,738
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $4,342,298
Total estimated value of credit: $1,085,575 - Union Gospel Press (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Total project investment: $20,821,275
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $17,541,145
Total estimated value of credit: $4,385,286 - Neal Terrace Apartments (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Total project investment: $6,916,800
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $4,768,900
Total estimated value of credit: $1,192,225 - Boulevard Terrace Apartments (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Total project investment: $14,229,300
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $9,889,400
Total estimated value of credit: $2,472,350 - Exhibit Builders, Inc. Complex, formerly Baehr Brewing Company & The Odd Fellows Hall (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Total project investment: $6,192,302
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $4,968,532
Total estimated value of credit: $1,242,133 - Hanna Building Complex (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Total project investment: $19,271,000
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $18,459,999
Total estimated value of credit: $4,615,000 - Wick Building (Youngstown, Mahoning County)
Total project investment: $8,650,000
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $8,150,000
Total estimated value of credit: $2,037,500 - Erie Terminal (Youngstown, Mahoning County)
Total project investment: $7,721,634
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $7,158,133
Total estimated value of credit: $1,789,533 - Higbee Building (Cleveland, Cuyahoga County)
Total project investment: $31,223,000
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $31,223,000
Total estimated value of credit: $7,805,750
Applicants awarded an Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit upon reconsideration:
- Hercules Motors Corp. (Canton, Stark County)
Total project investment: $178,093,209
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $147,847,407
Total estimated value of credit: $36,961,852 - Colony Theater (Marietta, Washington County)
Total project investment: $10,967,983
Estimated qualified rehabilitation expenditures: $9,262,457
Total estimated value of credit: $2,315,614
The Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program is administered by the Ohio Department of Development with assistance provided by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio Historical Society and the Ohio Department of Taxation.
The tax credits for applications approved to date total approximately $123 million, exceeding the amount budgeted for the program. When the program was designed by the legislature, the Legislative Service Commission prepared a fiscal analysis estimating its total cost would be between $42 million and $94 million for all projects approved over a two-year period. At the same time, the Ohio Department of Taxation estimated that the total cost of the program could be as much as $150 million over two years. Using these estimates as a guide, Ohio’s Office of Budget and Management assumed for budgeting purposes that the total two-year program cost would be $120 million.
The tax credits for applications approved to date approximate the $120 million budgeted for the program. Following a review of four pending applications for low value projects to satisfy the statutory requirement that a mix of high and low value projects be approved, no other applications will be approved for the remainder of the two-year program. If all pending applications were approved, the total cost of the program to the State would be $214,804,261, exceeding the $120 million budgeted for the program by approximately $90,967,788.
