The Empire Building, built in 1910 as a movie palace with offices above the theatre in downtown Syracuse, NY, was originally known as the Empire Theatre. The theatre’s marquee is no longer visible, however this 7-story building still maintains its glorious original art-deco façade. After the theatre was demolished in 1961, the upper floors were either left vacant or used as office space. In 2018, the upper floors of the building have been converted into 52 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments with a new floor added for loft-style penthouse suites offering high ceilings and large sunlit windows with modern day conveniences. The first floor remains as commercial space with long-term tenants. This historic structure has been revitalized utilizing the New York State and Federal commercial rehabilitation Tax Credit programs.
The Developer, Derek Persse, converted the building into apartments with a $10 million budget utilizing State and Federal Historic Tax Credits to fund approximately 25% of his budget. Clocktower Tax Credits, LLC introduced the historic tax credit investor to the project. The investor, a syndicator which was admitted into the partnership for the majority ownership of the investment structure, will use the allocation of State and Federal Credits as currency in one of its Tax Credit funds and will remain invested in the project partnership for five years. As in all partnership structures, the allocations of income, loss, tax credits and cash flow are made to the partners in proportion to the partnership interests, after the payment of developer and management fees.
For more information, please contact Sue Ellyn Idelson at (978) 793-9574 or SIdelson@ClocktowerTC.com.
