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Historic
preservation is good business for
Atlanta's neighborhoods and Georgia's
cities and towns. $1 million spent
rehabilitating a historic building
ultimately adds $2.3 million to Georgia's
economy -- creating 39 jobs (more than
equivalent new construction) and adding
$819,000 to the household incomes of
Georgia residents.** Historic
buildings support Georgia's sustainable
economic growth. While recruitment
incentives strongly influence corporate
relocation, ultimately companies stay
because of the incentives the quality of
life of a community provides. Historic
buildings are an important element of that
criteria because they provide a sense of
ownership, a sense of evolution -- that
sense of community company employees
enjoy.**
Historic
preservation promotes heritage tourism,
the fastest growing segment of America's
fastest growing major industry. Historic
sites rank high in every survey of tourist
preferences and heritage tourism travelers
spend more money and stay longer than the
average U.S. traveler. In 1996, Georgia's
tourists spent over $453 million on
historic-related leisure activities.
Historic
preservation makes cents. Federal tax
credits for certain expenses incurred in
connection with the rehabilitation of an
old building are available to owners and
some long-term renters of income-producing
properties -- 20 percent for a historic
building and 10 percent for a non-historic
building. Georgia law provides an owner of
an historic property which has undergone
substantial rehabilitation an eight-year
freeze on property tax assessments. In
1997, Georgia led the nation in the number
of rehabilitation tax credit projects,
with 155 projects representing over $96
million. Together, state and federal tax
incentives have resulted in over$.5
billion in private investment in Georgia's
historic properties since 1981.
Preservation
through rehabilitation is less expensive
on average than new construction. The more
historic fabric saved, the less hauled off
to landfills and the less expensive the
rehabilitation. This little known fact is
irrefutably documented in US and Georgia
state tax credits.
Georgia has
45 National Historic Landmarks and 1625
National Register Listings with over
40,000 properties located in historic
districts.
The number
of historic commissions in Georgia has
grown from seven in 1980 to a total of 81
in 1997. Twelve of these are located in
the Metro-Atlanta area.
** Donovan
D. Rypkema, a principal of Real Estate
Services Group; "The Economics of
Historic Preservation,Ó 1996 Georgia
Historic Preservation Conference
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