|
 |
Certified Heritage Areas (CHA) and the
Heritage Preservation Tax Credit
I. IDENTIFYING CERTIFIED HERITAGE STRUCTURES WITHIN TARGET INVESTMENT ZONES
Listed or designated historic structures throughout Maryland, including those located within CHA Target Investment Zones, are eligible for the Heritage Preservation Tax Credit. Those structures include structures a) listed in the National Register of Historic Places; b) designated as a historic property under local law; or c) located in a National Register listed or locally designated historic district and certified by the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust as contributing to the significance of the district.
In addition, non-listed, non-designated historic structures as well as non-historic structures located within CHA Target Investment Zones are eligible for the tax credit if the structure has been certified by the Authority as contributing to the significance of the CHA.
A non-listed, non-designated historic structure can contribute to the significance of a CHA if it is:
1. Eligible for individual listing in the National Register of Historic Places; or
2. A contributing resource within a National Register eligible district.
The Heritage Area Management Plan must identify which non-listed, non-designated historic structures are eligible for listing in the National Register. Heritage Areas are strongly encouraged to consult with the Maryland Historical Trust (Peter Kurtze, Administrator, Evaluation and Registration, 410 514-7649), to confirm which structures and areas within the Zone(s) may already be determined eligible for listing on the National Register. The Trust will also identify for the Heritage Area the level and kind of documentation necessary to determine National Register eligibility for non-listed historic structures within the Zone(s).
A non-historic structure can contribute to the significance of a CHA if it is:
1. Not architecturally, historically, or culturally significant in and of itself, but its rehabilitation significantly enhances the overall architectural, historical, or cultural quality of the heritage area and the visitor experience.
The Heritage Area Management Plan must identify the types of rehabilitation projects involving non-historic structures which the Heritage Area would like the Authority to consider eligible for the Heritage Preservation Tax Credit. It will not be possible to identify specific, eligible, non-historic structures with any certainty because eligibility for the tax credit for non-historic structures depends not on the structure itself but on the nature of the use and improvements associated with the rehabilitation of the structure. For example, a Target Investment Zone may contain a number of non-historic warehouses, but only those projects which involve the rehabilitation of a non-historic warehouse which significantly enhances the overall architectural, historical, or cultural quality of the heritage area and the visitor experience will be eligible for the tax credit. The Management Plan must identify the Zone-specific uses (e.g., types of heritage tourism-related uses such as entertainment, interpretation, lodging, and retail), characteristics of the physical improvements (e.g., exterior design requirements and incorporation of interpretive devices), and other standards (e.g., minimum economic benefits generated and percentage of activity or sales resulting from tourism) which the Heritage Area can demonstrate would qualify rehabilitation of a non-historic structure for the tax credit.
Approval of a CHA Management Plan by the Authority constitutes:
1. Concurrence with the certified heritage structure eligibility justifications submitted for non-listed, non-designated historic structures contained in the Plan; and,
2. Approval of the standards for certifying non-historic structures located within the Target Investment Zones as certified heritage structures eligible for the rehabilitation tax credit.
II. IDENTIFYING CERTIFIED HERITAGE STRUCTURES WITHIN CERTIFIED HERITAGE AREAS
Once a Heritage Area’s Management Plan has been approved, the Authority may consider non-historic structures located outside of Target Investment Zones but within the boundaries of a Certified Heritage Area for designation as certified heritage structures. The Authority will consider such designations on a case by case basis.
The Authority may certify such non-historic structures as certified heritage structures if it can be shown that their rehabilitation will have a significant tourism development impact within the CHA and that the structures, once rehabilitated, meet the standards for proposed uses (e.g., types of heritage tourism-related uses such as entertainment, interpretation, lodging, and retail), characteristics of physical improvements (e.g., exterior design requirements and incorporation of interpretive devices), and any other standards (e.g., minimum economic benefits generated and percentage of activity or sales resulting from tourism) outlined in the Management Plan as requirements that non-historic structures located within Target Investment Zones must meet in order to be eligible for the tax credit. The Authority has designated the State Historic Preservation Officer, a member of the Authority, to review applications for certification of non-historic structures on behalf of the Authority, to apply the certification standards set out in the Management Plan to such structures, and to certify them as heritage structures.
III. QUALIFYING FOR THE REHABILITATION TAX CREDIT
Once a structure is certified as a certified heritage structure, building owners must submit the three-part Heritage Preservation Certification Application to the Maryland Historical Trust at the appropriate points in the rehabilitation process in order to qualify for the credit. (Part 1 - Certification of Significance; Part 2 - Description of Rehabilitation; Part 3 - Request for Certification of Completed Rehabilitation).
Non-Listed, Non-Designated Historic Structures
Background material sufficient to satisfy Part 1 of the Tax Credit application process for non-listed, non-designated historic structures located with CHA Target Investment Zones should be included within the Heritage Area Management Plan. This documentation may be used by Tax Credit applicants as the basis for completing the Part I “Certification of Significance.” Plans for the rehabilitation of such National Register eligible structures (Parts 2 and 3 of the Tax Credit application) will be reviewed by MHT staff applying the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
Non-Historic Structures
In order to satisfy Part 1 of the Tax Credit application process for non-historic structures located in Target Investment Zones, the Authority (acting through the Director of the Maryland Historical Trust) must certify that the non-historic structure which is the subject of a rehabilitation project contributes to the significance of the heritage area. Such certification may be granted if the relevant Heritage Area Management Entity informs the Authority in writing that the structure and associated plans for its redevelopment meet the use, design, and any other criteria for those structures outlined in the approved Heritage Area Management Plan. All supporting documentation for such a request must be submitted with the Part 1 application. Non-historic structures located outside of an Area’s Target Investment Zones must additionally show that the relevant Heritage Area Management Entity finds that the proposed rehabilitation will have a significant tourism development impact within the Certified Heritage Area.
Plans for the rehabilitation of non-historic certified heritage structures (Parts 2 and 3 of the Tax Credit application) will be reviewed by MHT staff. Staff will apply the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and will review the non-historic structures as they would non-contributing resources located within a historic district. That is, changes or alterations to the non-historic structures must be compatible with surrounding historic structures and districts while not being held to the stricter interpretation of the Standards for historic structures.
Last updated: April 29, 2008
| |
|
