Many owners of historic commercial buildings around the city have been waiting for the opportunity offered by a new Historic Tax Credit.
The San Antonio Conservation Society is offering a workshop to help business owners learn about rehabbing their historic properties through the new state tax credit.
The October 17 workshop will bring in the state’s architecture director from the Texas Historical Commission and two property owners who successfully rehabilitated their own buildings using Louisiana’s tax credit along with the federal tax credit.
Conservation Society board president Sue Ann Pemberton says Texas lagged behind but now has caught up, becoming the 34th state to offer the Historic Tax Credit:
"The advantage is that it can fill the gap or make a project work that otherwise would be deemed as impossible because the numbers don't work. But if you're getting a 25 percent tax credit on your franchise tax, it can make that gap go away," she said.
Pemberton believes the credit will kick-start rehabilitation around the city where historically correct upgrades can change the fabric of neighborhoods.
"For instance, we have a lot of vacant buildings - or under-utilized buildings - in downtown San Antonio. And on our primary roadways, our main arteries going in and out of San Antonio, there are historic structures that could be rehabilitated but again, the numbers haven't been working to date to make that happen," she said.
The workshopwill outline rehab standards – such as cleaning exteriors with methods that don’t hurt the structure – and it will give examples of projects that have been successfully completed.
Pemberton said the workshop will be presented at the St. Anthony Hotel, where the tax credit is transforming the hotel and turning it into a model of successful rehabilitation in San Antonio.
More information about the cost of the workshop and the agenda can be found at the Conservation Society website.
