Halpin Backs Historic Tax Credit Program, Expects Credit to Assist with Redeveloping Older Properties

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Aiming to stimulate redevelopment of historic buildings in the Quad Cities area, state Rep. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, supported a plan last week to create a statewide historic tax credit program that will offset construction costs and enable development proposals to move forward.

“A historic state tax credit program will incentivize developers to choose Illinois and will breathe new life into older properties,” Halpin said. “This tax credit is based off an existing program in Illinois that saw tremendous success creating jobs and new economic activity by reviving structures in older downtown areas.”

The Halpin-backed Senate Bill 3527 would authorize the Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Natural Resources to administer income tax credits equal to 25 percent of qualified expenditures incurred during rehabilitation of a qualified historic structure. The program will have an annual limit of $15 million in credits awarded, with no single project receiving more than $3 million. The credit will become available in 2019, and could be used through 2023.

The new tax credit proposal is based off a current historic tax credit that is only available to projects in Aurora, East St. Louis, Elgin, Peoria and Rockford. In those communities, the tax credit has been used to turn large, abandoned structures into mixed-use developments that feature retail, housing, restaurants and other community amenities.

“I believe the Quad Cities should have been included in the initial tax credit program, but am glad to see our region will qualify under the new program if signed into law,” Halpin said. “There are a number of empty buildings that can be turned into community assets, and this plan can bring real change in a short period of time.”

For more information, please contact Halpin’s full-time constituent service office at 309-558-3612 or at rephalpin@gmail.com.