The Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) will go to work on the final round of funding for the Ohio stimulus plan’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit, which has $24.4 million remaining for rehabilitation projects that to date have leveraged more than $1.2 billion in private investments and federal grants.

ODOD Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel announced Wednesday that the state has received 50 applications from 14 Ohio cities large and small as of the March 31 filing deadline for round four of the historic preservation tax credit. Applicants included all of Ohio’s major urban areas and many smaller cities, including first-time filers Newark, Berea and Celina. Cleveland had the largest number of applications at 12, followed by Cincinnati, 11, and Akron, seven. Columbus and Toledo were a distant fourth, with three grant seekers apiece. Dayton and Youngstowneach had a single applicant.

 
Filers are seeking more than $80 million in historic preservation tax credits – more than three times the amount remaining in the original $120 million approved by 127-HB554 – with requests ranging from $8,000 to a grant cap of $5 million.
 
“The Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program is an excellent economic stimulus driver for the state,” Patt-McDaniel says. “Every $1 dollar that the state invests in these projects leverages more than $5.50 in private investments. But beyond the sheer economic impact, the program is catalyzing revitalization in Ohio’s great historic downtowns in cities such asAkron, Youngstown, Piqua and Springfield.”
 
In the previous three rounds, $220 million was awarded to 99 historic preservation sites in 26 cities, including the initial $123 million in tax credits provided under 126-HB149. (See The Hannah Report, 3/18/08, 10/20/08, 12/10/09.) Twenty of those have been completed, says Patt-McDaniel, creating more than 1,500 full-time construction jobs and more than 1,100 permanent jobs.
 
The tax credit provides 25 percent of qualified expenditures for historic preservation. Eligible buildings must be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, located in a registered historic district, and certified by Ohio’s preservation officer as being of historic significance to the district; or, listed as a historic landmark by a certified local government. Preservation work must meet the U.S. Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation of Historic Properties.
 
ODOD, through its Urban Development Division, administers the program in partnership with the Ohio Department of Taxation and Ohio Historical Society. The three agencies will review all eligible applications and announce round four winners by June 30, 2010.
 
More information about the Ohio Historic Tax Credit program, including the 2008 Annual Report and applications, may be found at ODOD’s website, development.ohio.gov.