Ask your NY Representatives to sign the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) FY22 Dear Colleague Letter

Don’t let historic preservation get left behind in this year’s appropriations process to determine Fiscal Year 2022 funding levels! Please contact your New York Congressional Representatives today to request they sign-on to the FY22 HPF Dear Colleague Letter requesting $150 million in funding for the HPF.

Find your New York Representatives and contact them ASAP! The deadline for signatures is April 28.

Thank you to the NY Congressional Reps who have signed (as of 4/22), including Representatives: Thomas Suozzi, Kathleen Rice, Antonio Delgado, Brian Higgins, Joseph Morelle, Jerrold Nadler, Paul Tonko, Nydia Velázquez, Hakeem Jeffries, and Mondaire Jones!

This bi-partisan effort is led by the co-chairs of the Historic Preservation Caucus, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH). If your Representative is not a member of the Preservation Caucus, please also ask that they consider contacting Representative Turner or Blumenauer’s staff for more information and to join.

Preservation advocates nationwide made this a priority at the 2021 National Preservation Advocacy Week in DC and now its your turn to show your support! The request includes:

• $60 million for State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs)

• $24 million for Tribal Historic Preservation Offices (THPOs)

• $20 million for the Save America’s Treasures grant program

• $10 million for competitive grants for Historically Black Colleges and Universities

• $9 million for the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grants

• $1 million for a competitive grant program to survey and document historic resources

• $19 million for African American Civil Rights Initiative Competitive Grants

• $7 million for the newly established competitive grants programs to preserve the sites and stories associated with securing civil rights for All Americans

• Support for funding the Semiquincentennial grant program to preserve historical sites commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America…a commemoration that we at the League are already looking forward to!

If you haven’t already done so, please ask your NY Representatives to sign on as a co-sponsor of the new version of the HTC-GO legislation (H.R. 2294).

Contact your Representatives today to let them know these are incentives that are important to you, your organization, business, or community. Learn more about this legislation and tips on crafting your ask.

A big thank you to our New York regional preservation colleague organizations for signing our support letter for H.R. 2294, and promoting historic preservation as part of the solution to aid in nationwide post-pandemic economic recovery!

Join us in reminding our New York Congressional Representatives that historic preservation can provide opportunities to aid in nationwide economic recovery as we look towards our post-COVID-19 future.

Urge your Representative to Cosponsor HTC-GO. Thank you to NY Representative Brian Higgins for leading the way on this important legislation!

What’s in the New Version of the HTC-GO Legislation?

Temporary Provisions

The HTC-GO legislation (H.R. 2294) temporarily increases the rehabilitation credit (IRC § 47) to address projects impacted by the pandemic.

• This provision increases the HTC percentage from 20% to 30% for 2020 through 2024.

• The credit percentage is phased down to 26% in 2025, 23% in 2026, and returns to 20% in 2027 and thereafter.

Justification: Developers and building owners are experiencing challenges in rehabbing historic buildings. The financial markets have slowed, making it difficult for projects to access capital and stalling complex historic real estate developments. The increased volatility in the market and project risk is forcing banking institutions to decrease their loan frequency and the overall amount while tightening underwriting requirements. Increases in material and construction costs and an uncertain tenant market have further impacted potential developments. As a result, many projects have stalled or are no longer feasible.

Permanent Provisions

• Increases the credit from 20% to 30% for projects with less than $2.5 million in qualified rehabilitation expenses, making it easier to complete small rehabilitation projects.

• Lowers the substantial rehabilitation threshold, making more buildings eligible to use the HTC.

• Eliminates the requirement that the value of the HTC must be deducted from a building’s basis (property’s value for tax purposes), increasing the value of the HTC and making it easier to pair with the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.

• Makes the HTC easier to use by nonprofits for community health centers, local arts centers, affordable housing, homeless services, and others by eliminating IRS restrictions that make it challenging to partner with developers.

Justification: The above provisions would make important changes to the HTC to encourage more building reuse and redevelopment nationwide and would particularly benefit small, midsize, and rural communities. These provisions would not only make the credit easier to use and more historic properties eligible, but it would also enhance the value of the HTC and make the credit easier to use to create affordable housing.

Contact your reps today to let them know these are incentives that are important to you, your organization or business, and community. The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), The National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC), and the Historic Tax Credit Coalition (HTCC) are pushing hard for these inclusions, with support from the Preservation League of NYS in New York, but your representatives need to hear from their constituents!

• Visit the websites of your NY House Representatives and Senators

  • Send a message to your Representative through their website and select “tax” or “taxation” as the issue area.

  • Or call (during office hours) the office of your House Member. Introduce yourself as a constituent and ask for the email address of tax staff.

• Draft your message using the following talking points:

  • Historic Tax Credit projects will help revitalize our communities and support our nation’s economic recovery. Many projects continue to experience profound challenges on-site and in the financing realm, due to the pandemic.

  • Now is the time to strengthen this proven incentive to address the slowdown in rehabilitation projects across the country, particularly smaller projects in our main street communities and downtowns.

  • Would the Representative please cosponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act, sponsored by Rep. Blumenauer and Rep. LaHood?

  • These provisions were included and passed in the House Infrastructure bill (H.R. 2) in July 2020. Please look for opportunities to include these provisions in future infrastructure legislation.

  • Note any examples you may have that describe obstacles that local HTC projects have faced during the pandemic, such as delays, extra costs incurred onsite, and project financing difficulties and describe how projects would benefit from a temporary provision that increases the HTC from 20% to 30% (like leveraging more investor equity etc.) and explain how the permanent HTC provisions in the House-passed infrastructure bill would help projects and contribute to the economic recovery.

You may wish to share the HTC Fact Sheet and related legislation with Congressional Offices and review the project lists in your region.

For further assistance with your advocacy, contact: NTHP, NTCIC, HTCC, or PLNYS:

• Mike Phillips, mphillips@ntcic.com

• Shaw Sprague, ssprague@savingplaces.org

• Patrick Robertson, probertson@confluencegr.com

• Erin Tobin, etobin@preservenys.org

• Christina Hingle, chingle@preservenys.org

Looking for a recap on how we got here? Catch up with the recording of the January 26 New York federal advocacy webinar.

In case you missed it...Biden tosses former president Trump's classical architecture order. Read more.

The League joined with other preservation colleagues from around the state, including representatives from the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the New York State Historic Preservation Office for a week of virtual Congressional meetings to advocate for preservation to our NY Representatives.

Among the asks:

• $150 million appropriation towards HPF Funding for 2022;

• Urging to join the historic preservation caucus; and

• Improvements to the federal historic tax credit (HTC) program with the goals of bringing more value to HTC transactions and encouraging redevelopment of smaller, income-producing properties and increasing the credit from 20-30%.

Nationwide, 200 meetings were attended over the course of the week and advocates from 42 states were represented. A great showing of advocacy for historic preservation!

On February 26, the House of Representatives passed the National Heritage Areas Act (H.R. 1316) led by Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) and David McKinley (R-WV), as part of the Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act. This important act also reauthorized the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, an important partner in preserving and celebrating our National Historic Landmark canal system.

• Click here to read the press release from Representative Tonko.

• Click here to view his “Protecting America’s Heritage Areas” fact sheet.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Preservation Action (@preservationaction)

Good news: The federal government will not implement federal rule changes proposed by the prior administration that were hostile to the National Register designation process. In April 2019, the Preservation League submitted a letter, along with countless other preservation organizations, in opposition to these National Register changes and are thrilled they are now off the table.

These changes would have:

• Created multiple burdens and roadblocks to designation of culturally and historically significant public land.

• Had a significant negative impact on how federal properties were nominated to the National Register and determined eligible.

• Allowed National Register objections to be weighted based on property size, as compared to the current system of one owner equals one vote.

• Affected communities across the country and had a devastating impact on the Historic Tax Credit program.

Thank you to all the preservation advocates who stood up for preservation and opposed the implementation of these rule changes!

Earlier this month, the much anticipated FY19 economic impact report of the federal historic tax credit was published. This report highlights the success of the federal historic tax credit program nationwide specifically, that it generated $6.2 Billion in GDP and created 109,000 Jobs in 2019. Meaningful impacts of the program can also be seen here in New York, with $550 million in GDP, and 9,561 jobs created. Further evidence that the historic tax credit program has an incredibly important role as the nation looks toward a post-pandemic economic recovery.

"For more than 42 years, the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program has enabled the preservation and rehabilitation of more than 45,000 historic properties, while generating more than $188.2 billion in GDP nationally,” said Margaret Everson, Counselor to the Secretary, exercising the delegated authority of the National Park Service Director. “This is an incredible example of a federal/state partnership that continues to drive investments in historic preservation and revitalize communities across the country."

View fullsize

Earlier this month, the much anticipated Annual Report on the Economic Impact of the Federal Historic Tax Credit for Fiscal Year 2019 was published. This report highlights the success of the Federal Historic Tax Credit program nationwide, specifically that it generated $6.2 Billion in GDP and created 109,000 jobs in 2019. Meaningful impacts of the program can also be seen here in New York, with $550 million in GDP and 9,561 jobs created. This report provides further evidence that the historic tax credit program has an incredibly important role as the nation looks toward a post-pandemic economic recovery.

"For more than 42 years, the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program has enabled the preservation and rehabilitation of more than 45,000 historic properties, while generating more than $188.2 billion in GDP nationally,” said Margaret Everson, Counselor to the Secretary, exercising the delegated authority of the National Park Service Director. “This is an incredible example of a federal/state partnership that continues to drive investments in historic preservation and revitalize communities across the country."

House Passes H.R. 2 Infrastructure Bill, inclusive of HTC-GO Enhancements & Temporarily Addressing COVID-19 Distressed Projects 

The Invest in America Act [aka the Moving Forward Act], includes $1.5 trillion to fund infrastructure projects. It dedicates about $400 billion in infrastructure investments for roads, bridges, and transit, and includes key Historic Tax Credit (HTC) improvements and temporary measures related to COVID-19 recovery endorsed by the historic preservation community.

Thank you to our New York House Representatives for supporting this effort, including those who co-sponsored the bill: Yvette Clarke [NY-9], Adriano Espaillat [NY-13], Brian Higgins [NY-26], Carolyn Maloney [NY-12], Sean Patrick Maloney [NY-18], Gregory Meeks [NY-5], Joseph Morelle [NY-25], Thomas Suozzi [NY-3], Paul Tonko [NY-20], Nydia Velazquez [NY-7].

A big thank you to all of our supporters who joined us in this advocacy effort. Your efforts and support of the Preservation League clearly communicated how important preservation is to our economic recovery. This legislation supports preservation in the following ways:

• A temporary increase for all federal historic tax credit projects to aid in post pandemic recovery (30% through 2024, stepping back down to 20% by 2027), and a temporary extension to rehab deadlines impacted by the pandemic;

• Make permanent most of the provisions in the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act, H.R. 2825/S. 2615 (HTC-GO) including: 30% Historic Tax Credit for projects under $2.5 million;

• Eliminates the HTC Basis Adjustment, bringing more value to HTC’s;

• Reduces the Historic Rehab Test to 50% of a building’s basis instead of 100%; 

• Makes the credit easier to use by nonprofits; and

• Includes a provision for communities to rehabilitate existing public schools using the HTC.

Join our continuing advocacy efforts:

Contact Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to share how HTC projects impacted by the pandemic would benefit from temporary HTC provisions in emerging COVID-19 relief Senate legislation. Explain how these enhanced and temporary HTC provisions would bring relief to distressed projects. Suggested messaging to Senators:

• “Please include these needed HTC enhancements that were in the recent House infrastructure bill (H.R. 2) to the next Senate bill, so it may be used as a tool to enable future projects to aid in the economic recovery.”

• Describe obstacles that local projects have faced during the pandemic, such as extra costs incurred and project financing difficulties.

• Share the HTC Recommendations for COVID-19 Relief and Recovery Legislation 

• Explain how the recommended provisions would help these projects and bring back the pipeline of HTC projects that are stalled in your community.

We applaud the House for recently introducing the Moving Forward Act, to aid in COVID-19 response and recovery. Investment in our communities will greatly aid in this response, and historic preservation is key to revitalization efforts. Page 86 of the Act outlines a way to leverage investment by temporarily increasing the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) from 20% to 30% for 5 years. Further, it amends the disqualified lease rules, making the HTC easier for nonprofits and other tax-exempt entities to access it by including projects like health care centers, arts organizations, community services, workforce training providers, and others to use the HTC. This legislation also includes several provisions of the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act, which we have been supporting this past year. 

You can help by contacting your New York Congressional Representative and encouraging them to co-sponsor the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act in the House, and ask Senators to support the introduction of similar legislation. 

On June 4, 2020, H.R. 7092, The Great American Outdoors Act was introduced by the House as the counterpart to S. 3422 previously introduced by the U.S. Senate back in March.

The preservation community is particularly hopeful about the additional good this legislation can do as it addresses the $12 billion maintenance backlog in national parks and public lands to support the preservation of historic and cultural properties.

This legislation will also provide dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the nation’s premier recreation and preservation support program.

Thank you to New York Representatives John Katko, Lee Zeldin, Elise Stefanik, and Max Rose for co-sponsoring this important legislation.