Advocacy Alert: Support Expanding the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit

Join Us in Supporting LD1810 to Expand
Maine's Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit

On Tuesday, May 9 at 1pm, the Taxation Committee of the Maine State Legislature will hold a hearing on LD 1810, An Act to Expand the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit. This bill will create a new program to ensure historic homeowners benefit from these transformational tax credits. Additionally, LD 1810, sponsored by House Majority Leader Maureen Terry on behalf of Greater Portland Landmarks and Maine Preservation, will improve the small credit to make it more user-friendly and accessible for income-producing property owners.

How Can You Help?

 
Submit a letter of support. Urge the Committee to adopt LD 1810. You can reference details of the program and persuasive research offered here, such as the incredible economic benefits that result from rehabilitation projects and the pointed recommendations of the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability.

Upload Your Letter Here

Speak at the public hearing via Zoom. Individuals are allotted three minutes each, so consider in advance what you might like to say. Start off with a clear statement of support for LD 1810, such as "I support LD 1810 and the expansion of Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits to safeguard and financially incentivize the responsible stewardship of Maine's historic resources by homeowners."

Sign Up to Testify via Zoom

Attend the public hearing in-person. Stand with Maine Preservation, Greater Portland Landmarks, and other allied organizations at the State House as the Taxation Committee discusses this bill. Even if you choose not to testify (please submit a letter in writing in advance!), your presence can speak volumes and shows bill sponsors that their constituents support this groundbreaking initiative!
 
The hearing will take place at the State House, Room 127, in Augusta.

Learn More about Testifying at the Legislature

LD 1810 is part of Policy Action 2023, an initiative of Build Maine and GrowSmart Maine.

Advocacy Alert: Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone REPEAL

Portland City Council to hold workshop on repealing the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone on Monday, June 13

In February, Portland’s planning board recommended that Portland City Council dissolve the Munjoy Hill Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone (MHNCOZ).

The Council will hold a workshop on Monday, June 13 at 5pm to consider this, with a public hearing and vote scheduled for Wednesday, June 22.

The removal of this zone will significantly impact historic resources on Munjoy Hill that are outside the new historic district!

Greater Portland Landmarks strongly believes that evaluation of the MHNCOZ should occur as part of the broader review of the impact of historic preservation to be completed by Place Economics in September 2022, as well as ReCode Phase II and the revision of the R6 design standards.

With these three major reviews coming up, it is premature to pull the MHNCOZ out for review.

If the MHNCOZ is repealed, we would lose:

• Demolition delay, which allows the city, the property owner and the community an opportunity for conversation and study about the best path forward for the property

• Workforce housing incentive specific only to Munjoy Hill

• Opportunity for review in context of ReCode Phase II

We are afraid that removing the Overlay Zone, which was never meant to be temporary, will result in a divided neighborhood – creating two Munjoy Hills – and destroy the cohesive and vibrant neighborhood we know today.

We encourage you to submit public comment as well as contact city councilors and urge them to delay considering this repeal until the MHNCOZ can be evaluated as part of the ReCode process! To submit written public comment, please send an email to publiccomment@portlandmaine.gov (and be sure to include your name and legal address).

• Access the meeting agenda and informational packet

• Read Landmarks comments to City Council

• Find councilor contact information here

Please reach out with any questions about what the repeal could mean for Munjoy Hill or if you would like assistance in crafting your public comment talking points.

Ian Stevenson, Director of Advocacy
istevenson@portlandlandmarks.org
207.774.5561 x102

November Federal Advocacy Alert: Historic Tax Credit Provision

Historic Tax Credit Provisions REMOVED from bill!

View fullsize

Last week, a new iteration of the reconciliation infrastructure bill was released and was significantly reduced in scope, excluding the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) enhancements and many other community development incentives that were in a prior bill.

With a very limited amount of time to influence the legislation and knowledge that the HTC is currently "out" of the bill, now is the time to tell your federal legislators how much HTC improvements mean to you. As we're seeing in the national news, Congress is poised to move forward on infrastructure legislation, including a vehicle that could carry HTC provisions, as early as next week.

For months, Greater Portland Landmarks has joined preservation supporters across the country to advocate for improvements to the federal Historic Tax Credit program. It's critically important that our members of Congress hear from YOU!

How You Can Help

Sign the National Trust Sign-on Letter

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has organized a National Sign-on letter to encourage congressional leadership to include the HTC enhancement provisions in the final bill. Click here to sign the letter.

Continue to Reach Out to Maine’s Members of Congress

Please ask for Historic Tax Credit enhancement provisions, not included in the “Build Back Better” framework, to be included back in the final reconciliation bill.

• Call the Capitol Switchboard to connect with Maine’s Members of Congress: 202.224.3121

• Introduce yourself as a constituent and provide our legislators with a message like:

"The Historic Tax Credit is the single most important tool for historic preservation. Though the HTC provisions were included in the Ways and Means bill in September, HTC provisions were not included in the recent “Build Back Better” bill. Please make sure to include the HTC provisions in the final reconciliation bill. These provisions would benefit projects from Main Street revitalizations to large-scale rehabilitation while also supporting community revitalization and climate change mitigation.”

October Federal Advocacy Alert

Ask your legislators to support the
Historic Tax Credit enhancement provisions included in the infrastructure legislation.

Your outreach will directly determine
how much support HTC provisions will receive in ongoing negotiations.

As you're seeing in the national news, Congress is poised to move forward on infrastructure legislation, including a vehicle that could carry HTC provisions, as early as next week.

For months, Greater Portland Landmarks has joined preservation supporters across the country to advocate for improvements to the federal Historic Tax Credit program. The $3.5 trillion bill recently passed by the House Ways & Means Committee is expected to be significantly reduced in size and scope. It's critically important that your member of Congress hear from you that the HTC provisions included in the Ways & Means reconciliation package remain in the next version of the package.

The following HTC provisions are at risk:

• Temporarily Increasing the HTCs From 20% to 30% for all projects. (Sec. 135301)

• Permanent increase in the rehabilitation credit for small projects. (Sec. 135302)

• Modification of substantial rehabilitation definition. (Sec. 135303)

• Elimination of basis adjustment. (Sec. 135304)

• Modifications of tax-exempt use leasing rules. (Sec. 135305)

• Enabling HTCs to be used for public school buildings. (Sec. 135306)

How can you help?

We encourage you to reach out and express to our legislators the impact Historic Tax Credits have on economic development and affordable housing creation in Maine communities today! Will you join us?

Call Your Members of Congress (during office hours)! To call the Capitol Switchboard to connect with your House Member and Senators dial (202)-224-3121, then:

Introduce yourself as a constituent!

Then say…

"The Historic Tax Credit is the single most important tool for historic preservation. Unfortunately, it has not been meaningfully improved since the 1980s. Please support and protect the Historic Tax Credit provisions in the House Reconciliation Infrastructure Bill. The provisions included in the House version of the bill would benefit Maine by rehabilitating downtowns and helping to fund affordable housing projects. Plus reusing our existing buildings helps to mitigate climate change. The greenest building is the one already built, so please help us preserve more and preserve better!"

or email them now through their websites:

These projects and more have benefited from the Federal Historic Tax Credit program.

Federal Advocacy Alert

Ask your legislators to support the
Historic Tax Credit enhancement provisions included in the infrastructure legislation.

Your outreach will directly determine
how much support HTC provisions will receive in ongoing negotiations with the Biden Administration.

For months, Greater Portland Landmarks has joined preservation supporters across the country to advocate for improvements to the federal Historic Tax Credit program. Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee passed a key piece of infrastructure legislation that will expand and improve a number of community development incentives.

Historic Tax Credit provisions, similar to the House version of the Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act (HTC-GO/H.R. 2294), were included in the legislation and passed out of committee on a vote of 24 to 19. The following HTC provisions were included in the bill passed out of the Ways and Means Committee:

• Temporarily Increasing the HTC From 20% to 30% for all projects. (Sec. 135301)

• Permanent increase in the rehabilitation credit for small projects. (Sec. 135302)

• Modification of substantial rehabilitation definition. (Sec. 135303)

• Elimination of basis adjustment. (Sec. 135304)

• Modifications of tax-exempt use leasing rules. (Sec. 135305)

• Enabling HTC to be used for public school buildings. (Sec. 135306)

How can you help?

While Senate Democrats are in control of the present phase of negotiations and Maine doesn't have a Democratic Senator, we encourage you to reach out and express to our legislators the impact Historic Tax Credits have on economic development and affordable housing creation in Maine communities today! Will you join us?

Despite strong support in the House, the Biden Administration is currently negotiating with House and Senate leadership to reduce the cost and scope of the bill. All historic tax credit provisions are in jeopardy of reduction or elimination.

Support the Munjoy Hill Historic District: Email City Council

The Portland City Council will hold a vote on the proposed Munjoy Hill Historic District on Monday, February 1! We need you to email Mayor Snyder and the City Council before the meeting - there are 3 new Councilors who have not heard your support!

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Copy these email addresses into the TO: line of your email: ksnyder@portlandmaine.gov, pali@portlandmaine.gov, tchong@portlandmaine.gov, mdion@portlandmaine.gov, afournier@portlandmaine.gov, Azarro@portlandmaine.gov, nmm@portlandmaine.gov, bsr@portlandmaine.gov, sthibodeau@portlandmaine.gov, planningboard@portlandmaine.gov
 

Use the SUBJECT: Please support the Munjoy Hill Historic District!

State your name & place of residence, and copy this message (or add your own personalized message):

Mayor Snyder and City Councilors,
I urge you to support the proposed Munjoy Hill Historic District. The district will protect those properties that reflect the unique history of the hill and its residents for the last 180 years, including immigrants from Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia, Africa, and the Caribbean. The district will also support sustainability and affordable housing goals established in the City’s 2017 comprehensive plan.

Hundreds of units of affordable housing, as well as new market rate units, have been built in Portland’s existing historic districts in the last five years. Portland’s historic districts provide access to federal and state Historic Tax Credits, significant funding for challenging housing projects. Reusing and improving our existing building stock will also significantly help meet our goals to cut carbon emissions, reducing the need for the manufacture and transportation of new building materials - as well as reducing the amount of building demolition materials that enter our waste stream. 

Please vote to support the district. Thank you.

SEND before noon on Friday, 1/29!

GET THE FACTS ON THE MUNJOY HILL HISTORIC DISTRICT:

See Landmarks’ comments to City Council for the 2/1 meeting and vote.

Read more about the proposed historic district here.

Learn about how historic districts positively impact affordable housing.

Advocacy in December

It is a busy meeting week in Portland! There will be a City Council workshop on Wednesday to set goals for the Council in 2021. There will also be Planning Board, Historic Preservation Board, and Public Art meetings this wek. Read on to learn more about the projects that are expected to be discussed this week:

Portland Planning Board meeting - Tuesday, December 15th @6PM

A rendering of the redeveloped hospital building from Spring Street.

The redevelopment of 148 State Street, the current Mercy Hospital building, will be on the agenda at Tuesday’s meeting. The planning board will hold a public hearing on a proposal to rezone the hospital parcels from R6 to B3, a zone change that would accommodate denser housing on the site and some small scale commercial uses in the lower floors of the existing hospital building that would be challenging to reuse as residential. The rezoning request by the applicant was expanded at the request of city staff to include the mostly non-residential buildings on the opposite side of State Street, including St. Luke’s Church, the State Street Church, and Landmarks’ former offices at 165 State Street. Below is Landmarks’ statement for the public hearing on Tuesday.

Mercy Hospital's history began in 1918 during the Spanish Flu pandemic. Tonight, over 100 years later in the midst of yet another pandemic, we are discussing the redevelopment of the iconic hospital building on State Street built by the Sisters of Mercy during World War II from 1941-1943. Greater Portland Landmarks is pleased to support the redevelopment of the Mercy Hospital parcels and the proposed rezoning, which we believe will bring new life to the two historic buildings and provide much needed new housing and care facility beds in Portland. The proposed redevelopment project is an excellent example of how historic districts and buildings can accommodate new housing, particularly affordable housing. The proposed rezoning will also provide greater flexibility for the reuse of other non-residential historic buildings on State Street if they too should need to be redeveloped sometime in the future. 

The rezoning of the Mercy Hospital parcels is only the first step in the process of the site's redevelopment. We are hopeful, given the renderings thus far, that the proposed new construction and site features will be designed to knit together the fabric of the neighborhood along Winter, Gray, and State Streets.  Street trees, building details, and pedestrian transitions between the sidewalk and buildings entrances will be important design elements to consider as the site is developed so that the new buildings will fit within the context of the historic neighborhood. We look forward to the project progressing through the Historic Preservation Board and Site Plan Reviews and to its successful redevelopment as Mercy Hospital consolidates its functions to its Fore River campus. - Greater Portland Landmarks 12/15/2020

Join the zoom meeting or contact the Planning Board at planning@portlandmaine.gov

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Portland Historic Preservation Board Meeting - Wednesday, December 16th at 5PM

There are three items on the Board’s agenda this week. The Westin Hotel on High Street, the hotel under construction at 1 Center Street and the building at 110 Exchange Street are all proposing rooftop additions.

Join the zoom meeting

A proposed new residential unit atop the building at 110 Exchange Street.

A proposed deck on the rooftop of the Westin Hotel.

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Portland Public Art Meeting - Wednesday, December 16th at 4PM

The Public Art Committee is expected to discuss the final renderings of the Congress Square Plaza public art piece and the status of the process of the Bramhall Square redesign. While no images were included with the agenda, if any are posted during the meeting, we will update the blog and share them with you!

Join the zoom meeting

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City Council Workshop - Wednesday, December 16th at 5PM

Meeting agenda

Join the zoom meeting

Tell City Council you support the Munjoy Hill Historic District!

City Council will hold a public meeting and vote on the proposed District Monday, November 16. We need you to email your support to Mayor Snyder and the City Council before the meeting - the district designation is in your hands!

Here's how you can help:

Copy these email addresses into the TO: line of your email: ksnyder@portlandmaine.gov, pali@portlandmaine.gov, tchong@portlandmaine.gov, kcook@portlandmaine.gov, jcosta@portlandmaine.gov, jduson@portlandmaine.gov, nmm@portlandmaine.gov, bsr@portlandmaine.gov, sthibodeau@portlandmaine.gov, planningboard@portlandmaine.gov
 

Use the SUBJECT: Please support the Munjoy Hill Historic District!

State your name & place of residence, and copy this message (or add your own personalized message):

Mayor Snyder and City Councilors,
I urge you to support the proposed Munjoy Hill Historic District. The district will protect those properties that reflect the unique history of the hill and its residents for the last 180 years, including immigrants from Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia, Africa, and the Caribbean. The district will also support sustainability and affordable housing goals established in the City’s 2017 comprehensive plan.

Hundreds of units of affordable housing, as well as new market rate units, have been built in Portland’s existing historic districts in the last five years. Portland’s historic districts provide access to federal and state Historic Tax Credits, significant funding for challenging housing projects. Reusing and improving our existing building stock will also significantly help meet our goals to cut carbon emissions, reducing the need for the manufacture and transportation of new building materials - as well as reducing the amount of building demolition materials that enter our waste stream. 

Please vote to support the district on November 16th. Thank you.

SEND before noon on Monday, 11/16!

Get the facts on the Munjoy Hill Historic District:

Read more about the proposed historic district here.

Learn about how historic districts positively impact affordable housing.