The Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program is nearly 50-years-old. And, since its creation in 1976, it’s been used for many historic building renovations in the United States, including some in southwest Missouri. K
The program, administered by the National Park Service, provides a 20% federal tax credit to property owners who undertake a substantial rehabilitation of a historic building. The project must be for commercial or income-producing use and must maintain a building’s historic character.
"It's an incentive that the federal government creates to enable us to affordably use what we have and preserve the particularity and the beauty and the distinctiveness of our built environment, while also serving the communities around us," said Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
In Springfield, from 2001 to 2024, 95 projects have benefited from the Historic Tax Credit. They include Bailey School, which was turned into housing; the Ozark Camera Building, in the 200 block of E. Walnut, which is a multi-use building; J.W. Crank Drug Store, 306 S. Campbell, which is also a multi-use building; and Rowland’s Department Store, in the 200 block of W. Commercial, also multi-use.
There are also numerous other projects in the Ozarks that have benefited from the Historic Tax Credit, including in places like Joplin, Neosho, West Plains, Monett, Bolivar and Lebanon. You can view a list of projects here.
Quillen said, rehabbing and repurposing historic structures rather than tearing them down and building new, often encourages other similar projects.
“I was recently in Kansas City, and there's a — in Kansas City they've turned an old bank building into the Central Library," she said. "And once the Central Library was opened, the buildings around that also were revitalized or repurposed. So one preservation project, one project that takes an older building and repurposes it for something else, can catalyze development, historically-minded development, on a block or in a neighborhood.”
She said tourists are drawn to cities that have protected their historic resources. And she says, preserving buildings where history happened, links us to our past "so that we can continue to learn where we come from and work together to build a more just, inhumane future.”
She also points out that repurposing old buildings is better for the environment. And creativity is inspired by the constraint of working within an existing building, she said, which leads to innovative designs.
“It’s such an important tool that serves every community, in every state, in every county in this country," Quillen said. "It brings people together. The tax credit has served — you know, we're a pretty divided country right now, and this is a tool that everyone can embrace to preserve our historic fabric while adapting these beautiful older buildings to purposes that we need now.”
Projects must meet certain criteria to qualify for the Historic Tax Credit. A building must be listed on the National Register of Historic Places or be certified as contributing to the significance of a registered historic district. And the cost of rehabilitation must exceed the pre-rehabilitation cost of the building.
Anyone interested in using the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, should reach out to their state’s Historic Preservation Office.
