INDIANAPOLIS —
To lure investors to put money into abandoned historic structures in the downtowns of Indiana cities and towns, the Legislature created a special tax credit nearly 20 years ago.
But the small cap on the credit and the big demand for it has rendered the program nearly useless as a stimulus for economic recovery.
Now the Indiana Legislature is returning to the issue to consider raising the cap on how many credits can be doled out each year.
Under a bill that’s gaining support, the maximum annual amount of historic-preservation tax credits available to investors would quadruple.
“If there is one thing that almost every community in Indiana has, it’s a vacant or underused historic building,” said state Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, who authored the bill. Historic preservation advocates have been trying for several years to boost the amount of state tax credits available for rehabilitating old buildings and transforming them back into income-producing properties. The legislation that created the program was drafted in a way to give preference to historic structures in hard-hit downtowns and rundown neighborhood.
But the current law only allows the state to award a total of $450,000 in historic-preservation tax credits each year. That has to be stretched to projects statewide.
Marsh Davis, president of the nonprofit Indiana Landmarks, says that amount pales in comparison to other Midwest states.
He said Ohio sets aside $60 million in tax credits for investors willing to put their money into historic preservation projects; Iowa offers $45 million in tax credits; Missouri offers $140 million. Kentucky offers 10 times more credits than Indiana does.
Indiana has had no lack of interest from investors. The state’s Division of Historic Preservation in the Department of Natural Resources has already certified so many eligible projects that all the historic preservation tax credits for commercial projects have been claimed up to the year 2023.
With no tax credits available for more than a decade, that’s a long waiting list, Davis said. “The program is almost unusable,” he said. “We don’t even promote it anymore as an incentive.” Clere’s bill would raise the cap on the total amount of tax credits that could be granted to $2 million a year — more than four times the current cap.
That’s not much to go around the entire state, Davis said, but it would help boost small projects that aren’t likely to qualify for the federal tax credits that are designed for major, multi-million historic preservation projects.
The bill would also put an end to the granting of the tax credits deep into the future, as a way to avoid the kind of long wait list that currently exists.
The intent of the bill remains the same: An incentive to put money into a historic structure that has architectural value and commercial potential.
“It’s called the Historic Preservation Tax Credit bill, but it’s really an economic development bill,” Clere said. “We’re talking about existing resources that are cherished in most communities and using them to create jobs and put properties back on the local tax rolls.”
The legislation passed the House without opposition. It’s scheduled for a hearing in the Senate appropriations committee today. If it gets out of committee, it could go for a full vote in the Senate by next week.
Maureen Hayden covers the Statehouse for the CNHI newspapers in Indiana. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup,com.
State News
Legislature looks at expanding historic preservation tax credits
- State News
-
-
Howard County hospital acquisition clears another hurdle
The planned acquisition of Howard County Regional Health System by the Indianapolis-based Community Health Network cleared another hurdle Tuesday, when the Indiana Finance Authority OK’d the transfer of the Howard County hospital’s debt obligations to Community Health.
-
Mall-based schools offer second chance for at-risk students
Jayne Carter spends her mornings at a shopping mall earning her high school degree. It may sound like a teenager’s dream, but for Carter, 18, and her classmates, it’s a second chance.
-
Maureen Hayden: Why did 3 million Hoosiers choose not to vote?
If you voted in last Tuesday’s primary, raise your hand. Congratulations. You’re part of the small minority of Hoosiers who exercised a right that citizens around the world covet deeply and for which many still risk their lives. For those of you with your hands down, here’s a question: Where were you?
-
Early intervention efforts try to prevent future dropouts
West Goshen Elementary has become a national model for a teaching-excellence program funded by public and private sources, the Teacher Advancement Program, or TAP.
-
3 brothers sentenced in Midwest human smuggling
Federal prosecutors in Indianapolis say three brothers have been sentenced to prison for running an operation that smuggled women into the United States and forced them into prostitution throughout the Midwest.
-
Making lemonade out of Lemons
Press Pass
-
Lugar, Mourdock in final push for voters
Inside his campaign headquarters in Indianapolis, there’s a photo of U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar shaking hands with former U.S. Secretary Condoleeza Rice, one of the many Republican Party heavyweights who’ve endorsed his re-election.
-
Maureen Hayden: Lugar running his toughest race Tuesday
You may think 80 is old, but U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, who hit that mile marker in April, has this message for people who think he needs to retire: I can still run.
-
Early voting, including absentee ballots, declines from 2008
Indiana’s hotly contested Republican Senate primary race has generated more than $12 million in campaign spending, including a record-topping $4 million in outside dollars.
-
Making Medora movie
Press Pass
-
Emergency stage rules approved
Even before the state’s new emergency rules covering outdoor stage equipment went into effect, the small town of Orleans felt their impact.
-
Memorial service honors workers killed on job
On Monday, Kelley Magill made her first visit to the memorial to honor her brother, Daniel Weger, a 31-year-old husband and father of three from Terre Haute who was killed in a work-related accident last June.
-
Evidence shows public corruption cases hard to prove
As part of his promise to make public corruption one of his top prosecution priorities, U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett has set up a hot line for anonymous whistle blowers.
-
New task force aims to root out public corruption
Criminal violations of the public’s trust will be investigated by a new Public Corruption Working Group comprised of multiple federal and state agencies.
-
State steps up efforts on stage safety
Fair and festival organizers throughout the state should expect more scrutiny of their outdoor entertainment venues this summer, even before new emergency stage regulations kick in.
-
Daniels addressing group pushing for safer stages
Gov. Mitch Daniels is taking Indiana’s lessons from last summer’s deadly State Fair stage collapse to an entertainment industry group that’s pushing for safer outdoor venues.
-
Beard continues to win
Stacey Latovia wasn’t your typical Russian tennis phenom, In fact, she wasn’t even Russian — and her name wasn’t really Latovia. But that name still makes North Daviess senior tennis player Stacey Beard smile.
-
Too late to change
Press Pass
-
Ruling in mo-ped case could drive new law
State law prohibits motorists with suspended driving privileges from getting back on the road, but an Indiana man is arguing that the mo-ped he rode down a state highway at 42 miles an hour isn’t covered by the law.
-
Indiana State Police to crack down on seat belt use
Indiana State Police will be watching for motorists who don’t wear their seat belts during special patrols over the next four weeks.
-
Indiana loses as more states gamble on casino revenues
Ohio’s first casino, combined with three more casinos soon to open in the Buckeye state, will generate 7,500 permanent jobs, 9,700 temporary construction jobs, and $600 million annually in tax revenues statewide. But Ohio’s windfall spells trouble for Indiana.
-
Trying to find my Cub-ness again
The Press Pass
-
Ex-bank executive to take over Indiana revenue office
A former bank executive will take the helm of Indiana’s embattled revenue department.
-
"Z" to return to Hatchet House
Which is better, seeing Tyler Zeller in the Hatchet House as high school All-American — or a college All-American? Fans can decide for themselves on Saturday night.
-
Apparent intruder fatally shot in Fort Wayne
Police in Fort Wayne say an apartment resident fatally shot a man who the resident told officers had kicked in the door to the home.
-
After dull debate, GOP Senate race turns to ground game
Richard Mourdock said he was hoping for a Lincoln-Douglas-style debate with incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar — the kind that brings sharp issues into critical focus and propels a little-known candidate toward fame. Instead, he got what one political observer called “a valuable service to insomniacs everywhere.”
-
Report: Collapsed Indiana fair stage didn’t meet code
An engineering review released today found that the stage rigging that collapsed and killed seven people during last summer’s Indiana State Fair wasn’t built strong enough to meet state building codes.
-
Debate a civil war of words
Voters who tuned in to the lone debate between longtime U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar and his tea party opponent, Richard Mourdock, may have been disappointed if they expected to see a heated battle.
-
'Sextortion' suspect remains in federal custody
A Clay County man accused of possibly the largest case of online sexual extortion of minors in the nation will remain in federal custody awaiting trial.
-
Police fear 'sextortion' becoming more common
Federal authorities say extortion using sexual images is a growing crime as predators exploit the rise of social media and the prevalence of a “sexting” culture that leads teens and children alike to think it’s okay to text or transmit naked images of themselves into the virtual world.
- More State News Headlines
-
Howard County hospital acquisition clears another hurdle
Raw Video: NATO Protesters Face-off With Police
Mary Kennedy Mourned at Private Funeral in NY
Raw Video: Demonstrations Ahead of NATO Summit
Prosecutors: Trio Planned to Attack Obama's HQ
Obama Pushes for Post-2014 Vision for Afghanista
NATO Chief: 'No Rush for Exits' in Afghanistan.
G-8 Seeks Unity on Euro-debt Crisis, Iran
Libyan Convicted in Lockerbie Bombing Is Dead
Blind Chinese Activist Arrives in NY
Video Surfaces of Alleged Abuse at Kansas School
Raw Video: Powerful Quake in Northern Italy
G-8 Leaders Hope Greece Remains in Eurozone
Violence in Aleppo, Rastan Amid Observer Warning
Police: 3 Face Terror Charges Ahead of NATO
Raw Video: Demonstrators Protest NATO
Raw Video: G8 Leaders Gather for Class Photo
Raw Video: Will Smith Slaps Kissing Reporter
Raw Video: Obama Greets Leaders at Camp David
Coffee May Be Key to Living Longer
SpaceX President: 'This Is Not Failure'
'Ring of Fire' solar eclipse as seen from Japan
ET's Last Interview with Robin Gibb
Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake Slams Italy
Wiig's Emotional SNL Sendoff
Bloodied anti-NATO protester
Bee Gees Singer Robin Gibb Dies
Facebook Founder Ties the Knot
Heat even up series with Pacers
The Dictator Overthrows Elisabetta
Anarchists Arrested at NATO Summit in Chicago
Transgender Beauty Rocks Bikini
Raw Video: Will Smith Slaps Journalist
Spurs rally, take 3-0 lead
Protesters in front of Emanuel's house
John Edwards trial: Main points jurors may be mulling
Facebook IPO underwhelms
Kate Middleton's Two Thousand Dollar Dress
Man Who Fathered 30 Kids Asks Judge for Child Support Break
Sebelius Heckled During Georgetown Speech
