What does an “NR” Listing mean?
What does an “NR” Listing mean for church properties?
There is no additional burden on the church for being listed on the National Register for any work completed with private money (donations, church collections, funding from the Diocese).
The only restrictions apply to the use of public funds, these restrictions already apply to the church whether they are listed or not since they are determined eligible for the National Register. Even if they were not determined eligible, any use of public funds would likely trigger that determination as part of the Section 106 and 14.09 reviews.
So, there are no additional negative impacts of National Register listings, and in fact, listing on the National Register makes them eligible for grants form New York Landmarks Sacred Sites program, as well as funding through the Environmental Protection Fund of New York State.
What is the first step toward Historic Preservation?
Getting a Determination of Eligibility (DOE)
Generally, it takes four to six weeks to prepare a DOE submission, then the State Historic Preservation Office has 30 days to review and either request additional information or provide a determination. Ideally, you would have the determination in three months from the initial submission, although there could be changes within that timeline.
This is the first step in a lengthy process; if we successfully get a Determination of Eligibility, that would lead to Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of the historic tax credit application, as well as the eventual National Register (NR) listing.
What is the difference between the tax credits?
Federal Income Tax Credit equals to 20% of your Qualified Rehab Expenditures (QRE’s, which are renovation costs, including soft costs and developer fees; does not include acquisition, site work, or construction outside the envelope of the historic building), taken ratably over 5 years, and can be carried forward up to 20 years.
State Income Tax Credit equals 20% of your QREs, capped at $5 Million (so, $25 Million in QREs), but which is refunded as cash to the deal after wiping out any tax liability.
Note: Typically, larger projects monetize the credits through syndication to an investor.