The House and Senate passed SB 944, legislation that will allow for new expanded historic districts. The legislation allows one of the large historical credits to be a combined rehabilitation plan for the 2011, 2012, and 2013 calendar years. A combined rehabilitation plan would rehabilitate several multiple historic resources within the same historic district and would have a greater impact on the community than the approval f a plan for the rehabilitation of a single larger historic resource. Applications that are received for the rehabilitation of historic resources that are located within the same historic district can be approved as a single credit. This new combined credit is limited to $24 million. To qualify for this new expanded credit, projects must be in a historic of at least one square mile; historic resources to be rehabilitated combined must comprise at least 1,000,000 square feet and be redeveloped into residential, commercial, and retail establishments; combined investment must be at least $150 million; each individual historical resource must be at least 50,000 square feet; and the combined resources must be at least 80% vacant.
Although the legislation was requested by a coalition of developers and local government representatives from the Detroit area, the original proposed language would have allowed for this to apply statewide. The Department of Treasury, though, objected and wanted it more limited. The bill as passed limited the amount of credits that can be approved by the state to $24 million. The developers have indicated a desire to come back next year and increase both the cap and the number of districts that can utilize this tool statewide.
Andy Schor is the Assistant Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League. Contact him at (517) 908-0300 or by email at aschor@mml.org.
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