By Nicole Maharaj
July 1, 2002

Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, addressed the mayors during the Monday June 17 plenary luncheon about the critical importance of historic preservation, particularly as it relates to the housing industry. Moe began his remarks to the group by acknowledging Conference President Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino's service as a member of the National Trust's Board of Advisors for nine years, and Mayor Menino was presented the National Trust's highest award for outstanding achievement in public policy for his commitment to saving and enhancing historic places within his city a couple of years ago.

According to Moe, preservation is an economic engine. "If that concept surprises you, it may be that historic preservation isn't what you think. Restoring, furnishing and interpreting old houses as museums — that's what preservation used to be about, but not anymore. Preservation today is an effective tool for bringing new economic vitality and livability to our communities," Moe said.

Moe, who has traveled around the country says that he realizes that it's really hard to find a community where historic preservation hasn't had a real impact. "In big cities, older suburbs and small towns alike, preservation is sparking new community pride, stimulating tourism and putting deteriorated or underappreciated buildings back into productive use. We've always known preservation is good for the soul; now we know it's good for the pocket-book as well," said Moe.

Don Rykema, a nationally recognized expert on the subject is attributed by Moe. "I do not know of a single sustained success story in downtown revitalization anywhere in the United States where historic preservation was not a key component of the effort. That doesn't mean it isn't theoretically possible to have downtown revitalization (without) historic preservation, but I don't know about it, I haven't read about it or seen it," states Rykema.

Moe credits 170,000 new housing units to innovative use of tax credits. "One of the most effective catalysts for investment in preservation is the federal rehab tax credit, which provides a 20 percent tax credit for the rehabilitation of historic commercial buildings. Since it was first enacted in 1976, this legislation has leveraged more than $25 billion dollars in private investment, including some major renovated landmarks, such as Union Station in Washington, D.C.," said Moe.

Moe feels that historic preservation can be of enormous help in meeting the challenge of putting affordable housing within reach of all Americans. For instance, over the next 10 years, about 20 million new jobs will be created in the United States. Of these, about 7 million — or 34 percent of the total — will pay less than $20,000 dollars per year. At that salary level, people will not be able to afford to pay more than about $500 dollars in rent. Where are these people going to live? Vacant, abandoned or underused buildings represent a significant resource we can tap into for finding answers to this dilemma," expressed Moe.

"In addition to vacant or abandoned houses, underused upper floors in older commercial buildings represent another opportunity that is overlooked in too many communities. With appropriate revisions to zoning laws and building codes, these upper-floor spaces could be converted to housing that would take advantage of existing infrastructure and allow people to live close to where they work," said Moe.

According to Moe some 40 states have enacted state tax-incentive legislation to encourage the reclamation of historic buildings for housing. Some of these laws provide credits against state income taxes, others allow localities to abate property taxes on rehabilitated buildings. When used in combination with federal tax credits, these incentives play a major role in making it possible for older buildings to provide shelter for many people who are most in need of procuring housing.

Also, Congress currently has legislation proposing an equally powerful incentive for the rehabilitation of owner-occupied residential property in eligible historic districts called the Historic Homeownership Assistance Act, which would offer a 20 percent federal income-tax credit for rehabilitation. Other provisions would allow a developer to do the rehab and then transfer the credit to the homebuyer, allowing the homeowner who couldn't use the credit to exchange it for a reduction in closing costs or a lower-interest rate from the lender. "If passed, this legislation would put more underused properties back on the tax rolls, thus providing more much needed affordable housing around the nation," Moe asserted. Moe encouraged the mayors to put this l"With the enlightened leadership you are providing at City Hall, with the dedicated labor of the hundreds of thousands of preservationists who are your partners, and with the tools we need to get the job done, I'm confident that we can build cities that we and our children can be proud of — cities that are safe and efficient, lively and supportive, vibrantly beautiful and truly livable," concluded Moe.