Rogers Lewis assists clients with all aspects of historic preservation development, from preparing National Register of Historic Places nominations, to collaborating with architects and developers to ensure appropriate rehabilitation plans to meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. The firm advises clients on local, state, and federal tax incentives to provide the maximum benefit for each project.
Real Estate investment tax credits are valuable incentives that can be used to add tremendous value to properties that qualify for them, but many developers need the value of these incentives converted into cash during construction and development in order to help finance their projects and make such projects feasible. Rogers Lewis understands this, and has helped hundreds of clients convert their future tax credits into cash that can be used to fund part of their projects development costs. Our knowledge of the industry, the market for such credits, and the players in those markets is an invaluable resource that we provide to our clients.
Rehabilitation tax credits are income tax incentives offered by the federal government and by state governments to encourage the private sector investment in certain qualifying real property such as historic properties, abandoned or substantially vacant properties, textile mill properties and many other properties. This tax credit program incentivizes the private sector investment in, and preservation of, these properties.
Rehabilitation tax credits are valuable incentives that can be used to add tremendous value to properties that qualify for these credits, but many developers need the value of these incentives converted into cash during construction and development in order to help finance their projects and make such projects feasible. Rogers Lewis understands this and has helped hundreds of clients convert their future tax credits into cash that can be used to fund part of their project’s development costs. Our knowledge of the industry, the market for such credits, and the players in those markets is an invaluable resource that we provide to our clients.
A tax credit is exactly what it sounds like. It is an incentive provided as a percentage of the owner’s investment in a qualifying property. A tax credit allows the developer of a qualifying property or an investor in a qualifying property to realize a tax credit which may satisfy the developer, owner or investor’s income tax liability. A $1.00 tax credit satisfies $1.00 of the developer, owner or investor’s tax liability. Over the past ten years our law firm has work on projects that have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal tax credits.
“Chris Rogers and the team at Rogers Lewis have represented me since 2005 on my historic tax credit projects. Their exhaustive knowledge of how to qualify for and monetize tax credits, and their practical approach, has added tremendous value to our properties across the Southeast, including South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, and Alabama. In addition to the tax credit legal work, they handle our real estate and loan closings, property tax incentives, monetizing the credits, Opportunity Zone investments, other tax implications, exit strategies, and other legal issues that have popped up along the way, making them a one-stop resource for tax credit projects.”
Pace Burt, Historic Developer
By harnessing state and federal historic credits, coupled with the state mill credit and Bailey Bill tax abatement, the rehabilitation of the Woodside Cotton Mill into the Lofts at Woodside wove together a rehabilitation plan that reinvigorated not just the mill itself, but the ancillary structures on the site to create a vibrant community and successful project. The 309 apartments retain the industrial character of the historic textile, including interior wooden columns, exposed brick walls, and the mill’s eighteen-foot ceilings, keeping the massing of the space intact. Thoughtful consideration was given to where original painted walls, ceilings, and columns would remain while carefully removing paint in private areas to provide a raw aesthetic. Central corridors running the length of the building to access the apartments and allow the mill interior’s original height to be displayed. Concrete floors were added to create acoustical and fire separation between each level of the building and maintained the industrial character of the mill. New sheet rock walls separated each apartment while leaving the exterior envelope walls brick. Exposed ductwork adds to the industrial feel of the building.
Hotel Trundle and Boudreaux artfully combined three separate buildings from three eras into two distinctive spaces. Occupying both levels of the Western Auto and Rose-Talbert Paints as well as the first floor of the Powell Furniture Building, Hotel Trundle capitalized on the unique character of each building to inform its design, while creating a cohesive vision for the hotel. The Powell Furniture Building retained the pressed tin ceilings, removed the non-historic exterior paint, restored the original storefront design, and creatively incorporated hotel rooms with lower ceiling heights to maintain the full height of the historic mercantile space. At Western Auto, the original baked enamel exterior sign was wrapped in vinyl to retain a prominent feature while advertising the building’s new use. Original windows and exposed metal decking on the second floor remained while the first floor retained the highly finished appearance of a 1940s commercial building. The iconic Modern tripartite window on the second floor of Rose-Talbert Paints was carefully restored while a new second floor addition, which was not visible from the street, added additional rooms. The asymmetrical storefront, complete with pigmented structural glass, was restored on the building’s façade. Boudreaux’s second floor office in the Powell Furniture Building retained the pressed tin ceilings, hardwood floors, and signature row of columns down the center of the building.
The rehabilitation of this former five and dime store into a brewery and short term rental units retained the character-defining features of this mid-century commercial building while breathing new life into Myrtle Beach’s downtown. The project restored the original storefront design, retained the red baked enamel signboard as well as the original twelve-over-twelve second floor windows to maintain the commercial character while transforming the interior into a state-of-the-art brewery. The open floor plan helped maintain the historic mercantile space while the second floor storage space allowed more flexibility for subdividing into apartments. The exposed brick walls and metal decking ceilings were maintained as they were historically present while new floors and sheet rock partition walls were constructed for the building’s new use. The project has helped revitalize Myrtle Beach’s historic downtown commercial center while preserving a prominent historic building.