Project Title: Federal and State Tax Credit Programs for the Rehabilitation of Historic Structures

Agency: State Historic Preservation Office

Project Implementation and Completion Dates: This is an ongoing project, but dates for pertinent legislation are provided below.

• Federal Program for Income-Producing Historic Structures-1976 with revisions in 1978, 1981, 1982, 1984, and 1986

• State Program for Income-Producing Historic Structures-1993 with revisions in 1997, 1999

• State Program for Non-Income-Producing Historic Structures-1997 with revisions in 1999 (ongoing)

Project Description: The federal and North Carolina state governments encourage the preservation and rehabilitation of historic structures through programs of federal and state tax credits. Managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and the Internal Revenue Service in partnership with the State Historic Preservation Office (HPO) and the N. C. Department of Revenue, the historic preservation tax credit programs provide incentives for property owners to sensitively rehabilitate historic structures. The HPO reviews all projects for historic significance and the appropriateness of plans and construction.

Contacts: State Historic Preservation Office, North Carolina Office of Archives and History, (919) 733-6547

• Tim E. Simmons, Senior Preservation Architect/Tax Credit Coordinator 

• David Christenbury, Preservation Architect/Tax Credit Coordinator

Anticipated Environmental Sustainability Benefits: The most important aspect of the historic rehabilitation tax credit programs is the reuse, rather than the replacement of existing structures, thereby supporting historic preservation and sustainable conservation principles alike. Recycling historic structures:

• Results in continued or adaptive use of hundreds of historic buildings and houses

• Avoids overburdening landfills

• Avoids extracting natural resources for new construction and building materials

• Reduces the need for new infrastructure

• Preserves open space

Former Pine State Creamery, Raleigh	Pine State Creamery rehabilitated into three restaurants, ten apartments, and office and retail spaces.

A house in Raleigh before rehabilitation.	The same house after rehabilitation.

Income-Producing Projects Completed from January 1998 to May 2001

Number reviewed by HPO:	127
Construction costs:	$ 88.8 million

Non-Income-Producing Projects Completed from January 1998 to May 2001 

Number reviewed by HPO:	125
Construction costs:	$ 14.8 million

In annual surveys conducted by NPS on the income-producing tax credit programs, property owners have indicated that the majority of projects completed under this program would not 
have been done otherwise. Therefore, these tax incentive programs are important tools for the preservation and conservation of both our historical and natural resources.