Hisotic Tax Credits Ohio

BrainWave Prepares Documents for Clients and Client Vendors regarding Federal Processes, materials,  and Standards for Historic Preservation regarding commercial and residential structures:

 

Ohio Tax Credits

Historic Preservation Tax credits saves assets and helps communities build upon their unique historical strengths.

Federal Historic Tax Credit Rules Overview

Secretary of The Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation:

The Federal rules and suggested practices for a certified tax credit restoration are comprehensive and extensive. They guide rehabers through the enormous number of choices and options for the preservation of a properties original historic fabric. Correct selection of these options will determine a projects success in gaining the historic preservation tax credits. The following are excerpts from the Federal National Park Service website, and are a good starting point in understanding the more detailed information on the various websites which collectively constitute the rules governing the award of the tax credits.

"Rehabilitation projects must meet the following Standards to qualify as “certified rehabilitations” eligible for the 20% tax credit for historic preservation.

The Guidelines: Overview

The Standards are applied to projects in a reasonable manner, taking into consideration economic and technical feasibility. 

  1. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment.
  2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alteration of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.
  3. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place, and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings, shall not be undertaken.
  4. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.
  5. Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a historic property shall be preserved.
  6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the old in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.
  7. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.
  8. Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.
  9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.
  10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such a manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings

The Guidelines assist in applying the Standards to rehabilitation projects in general; consequently, they are not meant to give case-specific advice or address exceptions or rare instances. For example, they cannot tell a building owner which features of an historic building are important in defining the historic character and must be preserved or which features could be altered, if necessary, for the new use. Careful case-by-case decision-making is best accomplished by seeking assistance from qualified historic preservation professionals in the planning stage of the project. Such professionals include architects, architectural historians, historians, archeologists, and others who are skilled in the preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration of the historic properties. These Guidelines are also available in PDF format.
The Guidelines on Sustainability for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings stress the inherent sustainability of historic buildings and offer specific guidance on “recommended” rehabilitation treatments and “not recommended” treatments, which could negatively impact a building’s historic character. "

Standards for "Rehabilitation": 

The following text is from the NPS website on rehabilitation. "Rehabilitation" is the most commonly used standard  of the four standards possible in Historic Tax Credit projects.

"Rehabilitation is the most commonly used of the four approaches to the treatment of historic buildings

The Standards provide direction in making appropriate choices in planning the repairs, alterations, and additions that may be part of a rehabilitation project. The accompanying Guidelines apply the Standards and describe specific treatments that do and do not meet the Standards. The Standards for Rehabilitation are regulatory for the Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program and are the Standards most often used by local historic district commissions nationwide.

The Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings apply the Standards to historic fabric, such as masonry and wood, and historic features, such as roofs and windows. The Guidelines on Sustainability stress the inherent sustainability of historic buildings and address the application of the Standards to solar technology, weatherization, and other energy saving treatments.

Technical Preservation Services has developed a wide variety of guidance on applying the Standards for Rehabilitation. Much of it has been developed in the context of the Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program, but it is applicable to all rehabilitation projects.

Cumulative Effect and Historic Character explains that projects meet the Standards when the overall effect of all work on the property is consistent with the property’s historic character.
Interpreting the Standards Bulletins are case studies of specific rehabiliation treatments that do and do not meet the Standards.

Planning Successful Rehabilitation Projects provides guidance on applying the Standards to some common rehabilitation concerns, including windows, interior treatments, additions and new construction, and modern requirement, technologies and materials.

Incentives is a guide to the Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program and includes examples of additional treatments that do and do not meet the Standards."

Additional Links and Resources