Legislation seen as boost to Warehouse District

Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) has introduced legislation called the Creating American Prosperity through Preservation (CAPP) Act, H.R. 2479 that would provide a boost to local economic development through the restoration and reuse of historic buildings. Schock, a member of the House Ways and Means committee, the chief tax writing committee, introduced this bill to strengthen the Historic Tax Credit (HTC) already in place, and is seen as a boost for the continued development of the warehouse district.

Schock’s legislation will strengthen the current credit and make it more usable by targeting it to the rebuilding of historic downtown main streets while also encouraging every rehabilitation to become more energy efficient. The historic preservation credit is a permanent part of the tax code, and according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, historic rehabilitation has created thousands of local, high-paying, high-skilled jobs yearly. In 2009 and 2010, historic rehabilitation created over 145,000 new jobs. In Illinois, between FY 2009 and 2010, according to the Historic Tax Credit Association, there were 3,188 jobs created from Historic Tax Credit Rehabilitation Investment.

“The primary purpose of my legislation is to enhance the ability of smaller renovations to benefit for the tax credit. This includes buildings in the warehouse district,” said Schock. “The historic rehabilitation tax incentive has already been in use in. For example, the former YMCA building here in Peoria is a direct beneficiary of HTC tax credit.”

In a letter sent to Schock in May 2011, the city of Peoria encouraged Schock to reintroduce this legislation stating, “the proposal aligns with City Council interest in incentives that promote the reuse of older, historic building stock in the City of Peoria, including a number of recognized, significant buildings in need of rehabilitation and properties within the warehouse district.”