Council urges Congress to keep historic tax credit

The Gainesville City Council has joined other municipalities across the state in signing a letter of support for the federal historic tax credit, which offers incentives for the reuse of historic buildings to drive economic development and create new jobs.

The tax credit is particularly beneficial to Gainesville, which has a number of historic homes and buildings that have been repurposed for commercial use over the years.

“We’ve got a tremendous inventory of historical homes and properties in and around Gainesville,” said Mayor Danny Dunagan.

In a letter to U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-GA, also signed by leadership in Athens-Clarke County, Macon, Augusta and Milledgeville — among other places — the council cautions about the impact scrapping the tax credit could have.

“Weakening or eliminating the federal credit, as has been proposed by some in Washington (D.C.), would endanger the economic feasibility of nearly all historic rehabilitation projects in Georgia,” the letter states.

via Council urges Congress to keep historic tax credit.