Photo credit: HistoricDetroit.org.
While they were in their lawmaking frenzy, the lame-duck legislature in Lansing failed to restore an important tax credit for those restoring historic structures, writes John Gallagher in the Free Press.
Photo credit: HistoricDetroit.org
Such a policy is important for a city like Detroit, which is rich with important-yet-ailing buildings and on the upswing. Incoming Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should restore it, says Gallagher:
I call this one the little guy’s tax credit, because it’s often used by homeowners or shopkeepers to rehabilitate their historic but aging structures. And as such it often leads to upkeep of historic neighborhoods — think Detroit’s Indian Village or Boston Edison — that can anchor a broader recovery in our cities.
...And today, when urban living is attracting a broad range of millennials and empty nesters, we need our historic districts more than ever. Yesterday’s deteriorating urban neighborhood may be tomorrow’s trendy district if it gets the right help. Preservation is one way to do that.
The state historic tax credit would also create one more tool to help big developers bring their downtown projects online faster.
The state first instituted the credit in 1999, but eliminated it during the lean years after the financial crisis. Today, preservationists say Michigan is one of only 15 states that lacks one.
