“SAVE THE Valentine.”
Remember when The Blade and the Block family took a stand, and today we have a cultural treasure in the Valentine Theatre? A fight was waged in order to do the right thing. Many recalled the lost Paramount and vowed to never let that happen again. The ability to do the right thing was enhanced by utilizing a tool called the Federal Historic Tax Credit.
This tool even survived the Reagan tax reform of the 1980s, only to be bolstered by the state of Ohio developing its own State Historic Tax Credit program.
Today, a myopic Congress, that thinks it is all right to remove anything that has the word tax in it, has set its sights on one of the nation’s best programs.
Toledo has fared well with the Historic Tax Credit. The list is important within Toledo: the Valentine of course, with its associated housing, the LaSalle Apartments, St. Clair Village; the Steam Plant; Hensville; Standart Lofts and the Berdan Building, and the Hillcrest and Commodore Perry.
This is but a short list of more than 100 projects.
These projects are an example of smart investment and growing the tax base. Toledo can point to more than $145 million of projects linked to this program.
Indeed, in the 1980s, Toledo won a National Preservation Honor Award for the work done in Vistula by North River Development, utilizing this valuable tool.
Toledo was nationally recognized for its work, architecture, and investment, thanks, in no small part, to the Historic Tax Credit.
Unlike a simple tax dodge for those seeking a way to hide money, the Historic Tax Credit is an economic driver. In the state of Ohio, since 1976, it has helped fund 1,898 projects with $4 billion in investment. In short, the program more than pays for itself. Between 2012 and 2016 there were 24,616 jobs associated with it. The tax credit is taken by the private sector, and only after 100 percent completion of the project’s construction.
According to a report from the Rutgers Center for Urban Policy Research, the Historic Tax Credit has provided $29.9 billion in federal tax revenue. This translated into a return of $1.20 on every dollar awarded.
Historic preservation is a vital part of the sustainability movement. It keeps buildings from being demolished. The greenest building there is, is the one that already exists.
Historic preservation helps keep our urban fabric and city intact. Most importantly, respect for our history and culture assures an enriching life for those who come after us.
It is in the nation’s, our state’s, and particularly our city’s best interest to see this program kept. The slash-and-burn mentality guiding the tax makers and takers currently tells us that all tax credits are bad. But this is one program that has worked and is producing way more than it is costing. We must let Congress know that the Federal Historic Tax Credit Program should be kept and be a permanent feature of our tax laws.
Please write to our leaders and encourage the support for the Federal Historic Tax Credit program.
Paul Sullivan is an architect in Toledo.
First Published November 24, 2017, 10:45 p.m.