Read the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia's 2021 Annual Report. Check out the .pdf or scroll down to see the report in images.

Come to Virtual Morning Coffee with the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, the National Trust Community Investment Corporation, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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Join us at 9am on Thursday, December 16th, for a news brief where we’ll discuss an opportunity to improve a crucial tool for redeveloping West Virginia’s downtowns and incentivizing the re-use of vacant buildings - the historic tax credit. A total of 122 Federal Historic Tax Credit projects in West Virginia between fiscal year 2001 through 2020 has leveraged an estimated $258,016,381 in total development.

During the news brief, we will share a legislative update, how to take action and how potential improvements to the historic tax credit can benefit local community development by maximizing the long-term impact and sustainability of current federal funding opportunities for community projects by incentivizing private sector investment.
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Register here https://savingplaces-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0lf-6rrDwsHtUg7nddSrjOJqOE8i9b3ibZ

West Virginia has made its historic tax rehabilitation credit program permanent. Gov. Jim Justice recently signed the bi-partisan bill, which provides a 25% tax credit for those who rehabilitate historic income-producing properties. 

The 25% credit, which became law in 2018, was set to expire at the end of 2022. In those five years, the program attracted renewed interest in West Virginia’s historic commercial districts and spurred private reinvestment in more than 80 vacant and dilapidated buildings throughout the state. In just two of those years, more than $34 million were invested in nine projects.

The move to a permanent 25% credit provides needed certainty to property owners and developers, explained Renee Kuhlman, Senior Director at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The 25% credit often fills a financing gap in a project, but the uncertainty around its future made it difficult for developers to successfully apply for construction loans or plan long-term projects.

“The removal of the sunset date increases the attractiveness of the credit to investors,” Kuhlman said. “Already, I’ve received a call from a New Orleans developer wanting information about West Virginia properties because the program was made permanent.”

Without this tax credit, many historic redevelopment projects would not happen, explained Danielle Parker, executive director of the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, a statewide organization dedicated to supporting and promoting historic preservation. The 25% credit is often the reason a project becomes feasible.
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"There are over 1,000 properties, including 168 historic districts, that can be revitalized using the credit, and I am excited to see how these places can be brought back to life using this financial incentive,” Parker said.
The state historic tax credit is capped at $30 million of income tax credits per year. The program also offers a 20% residential rehabilitation credit for historic homes, which is also permanent.

The State Historic Tax Credit is administered by the WV Historic Preservation Office, and the National Parks Service. For more information on applying for the credit or to find out if your property is an eligible tax credit project, please call 304-558-0240. You can also Visit the WV Historic Preservation Office's website for additional information.

​Thank you to Senator Ryan Weld for being the original sponsor of this legislation and for being a champion of historic preservation and community revitalization for West Virginia! 

We want to say thank you to the legislation's co-sponsors too! They are Senators Mike Woelfel, Robert Plymale, Richard Lindsay, Eric Nelson, Stephen Baldwin, Mike Maroney, and Glenn Jeffries.

Special thanks to Delegate Erikka Storch for supporting this bill through  the House of Delegates and to the Abandoned Properties Coalition for leading the charge to make the 25% state historic tax credit permanent.

U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced bipartisan legislation, S. 1258, on Tuesday to extend the authorizations of West Virginia’s National Coal Heritage Area and Wheeling National Heritage Area – which are set to expire September 30, 2021.

“As Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I am well aware of the impacts National Heritage Areas can have on local communities. Extending the authorizations of the National Coal Heritage Area and the Wheeling National Heritage Area will allow us to continue to recognize their significant contributions to our nation and provide an economic boost to the communities around them. This bipartisan legislation will preserve and protect West Virginia’s rich cultural traditions and historic sites so that future generations can enjoy them as we have, and I look forward to it being enacted into law,” said Senator Manchin, Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“Both the Wheeling National Heritage Area and National Coal Heritage Area are important to the culture and scenic beauty of our state. It is essential that we extend their designation as National Heritage Areas to help continue our efforts toward conservation, restoration, and economic development in these regions. I’m proud to introduce legislation that will help boost tourism and revenue in West Virginia, while also helping to expand opportunities for people to enjoy the natural beauty and history that our state has to offer,” Senator Capito said.
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National Heritage Areas (NHA) are designated by Congress as places where natural, cultural, and historic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important landscape. By extending the official NHA designation, the National Coal Heritage Area and Wheeling National Heritage Area can continue to remain eligible for grants and technical assistance from the National Park Service that help create jobs, generate revenue for local governments, and sustain local communities

In 2017, the West Virginia Legislature voted to increase the state historic rehabilitation tax credit from 10% to 25%. However parts of the legislation will affect future reinvestment opportunities and even discontinue the tax credit increase. A network of nonprofit organizations, municipalities, and private investors have joined together to ask the Legislature to address these issues and are asking for support in favor of SB344, which was introduced by Senator Weld (R-1) with Senators Plymale (D-5) and Woelfel (D-5) as co-sponsors.

From 2018 to 2021, the historic rehabilitation tax credit has attracted renewed interest in our historic commercial districts and spurred private reinvestment in over 80 vacant and dilapidated buildings (some of which are pictured above). When a vacant or underutilized building is repurposed, it generates additional revenues to local government through increased property taxes. Once the state's initial investment is recouped, the project continues to yield positive economic impacts through a combination of sales, income, and business taxes.

In 2018 & 2019, over $34 million dollars were invested to finish 9 projects in Charleston, Clarksburg, Fairmont, Franklin, Huntington, Spencer, and Wheeling. These projects created 256 construction jobs for West Virginia. Rehabilitation projects support higher labor costs for construction jobs rather than new materials and also utilize in-state trades and professional services such as legal, accounting, architectural, and engineering, as well as wholesale trade and retail trade.

Large and small-scale developers report that historic rehabilitation tax credit programs fill a critical financing gap. The 25% rate provides an incentive to make a difference in a developer's decision to undertake a rehabilitation project, and it makes projects more feasible for individuals.

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