Over the summer, the Illinois General Assembly passed a bill expanding the role of state Tax Credits in the Historic rehabilitation marketplace in-state. The new program expands the successful River’s Edge Tax Credit program to provide a state historic preservation Tax Credit to Historic projects all across the state. This expansion from the previous 5 “River’s Edge” communities of Peoria, Aurora, Elgin, East St. Louis, and Rockford brings the State Tax Credit incentives on par with other flourishing programs in the Midwest. The Credit will be issued separately from the existing River’s Edge program, allowing the existing structure for at-risk communities to continue to flourish. The new bill was passed 110-11-1 in the state House of Representatives and 51-0 in the Senate, showing the bipartisan support for the rehabilitation of historic buildings in the Land of Lincoln.
The new tax credit will be non-transferable, requiring an existing owner to use the credit, or the introduction of a state tax credit partner to the development’s ownership entity to do so. The credit will be awarded to applicants on a first-come, first-served basis, adding an annual allocation of up to $15 million of tax credits to the Illinois development marketplace, starting in January of 2019. This will provide an additional piece of the capital stack to shovel-ready projects all across the state for the foreseeable future, and provide a nice tool for developers in nearby Missouri to explore investment in their neighbor, as the Missouri Historic Tax Credit program has been plagued by instability and reduction of annual allocation, leaving the development community at a stand-still.
Clocktower Tax Credits has facilitated dozens of Illinois Tax Credit transactions in the affordable housing and film programs, and we have the investor base, knowledge and experience in the Midwest development space to facilitate the investment in Illinois projects to reap the full benefits of this exciting new program. As developers begin to apply for Credit awards, we can leverage our experience with state Tax Credit partnerships to provide a competitive edge.
If there are any questions on the program, or for developers seeking future Tax Credit equity for their prospective developments, please contact David Curtis at (978) 440-0742 or DCurtis@ClocktowerTC.com.