Prosperity Through Preservation

If you’ve been around us for very long, you know one thing for sure:

The Mississippi Heritage Trust is a vocal group of card-carrying preservationists. We’re working the state to make sure that our members of Congress are clear on this issue and are equipped to convince other states to agree. We need your help.

þ Join our Advocacy Group Building support hinges on your willingness to declare that you and your organization are behind us. Members of our Advocacy Group will be listed on all collateral, enabling prospective candidates to see familiar names and feel more confident about signing on as well.

þ Write your representative. A simple postcard will do but don’t let that stop you from drafting your own appeal. As stake-holders in historic properties, you know better than anyone how the tax credit has enhanced your ability to restore these treasures. Tell that story - and be sure to talk at length about jobs created, taxes paid, auxiliary businesses (begun as a result of your property), quality of life enhancements, tourism generated, and more.

$13.7m in Federal Historic Tax Credits Imagine Downtown Jackson without the KING EDWARD HOTEL

The Mississippi Heritage Trust works to save and renew places meaningful to Mississippians and their history. MHT fulfills its mission through education, advocacy and active preservation using a range of programs and activities that reach communities throughout the state.

þ Host a member of Congress.

MHT was established in 1992 to serve

Review the list of projects in your area that have received the Federal Historic Tax Credit and invite a member of Congress to visit. This is the most convincing way to convey that preservation is a catalyst for economic development.

as a unified voice for preservation in Mississippi. MHT is a statewide partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

þ Host an MHT representative. We love to present at civic organization meetings because this is exactly where we find those most interested in our mission. This service is free of charge (though donations for travel expenses are deeply appreciated).

It was raised to $120 million. For that, we express our deepest gratitude to the many advocates who shared our vision. Now, dozens of real estate investors (many from outside of Mississippi, banking on our state as a great place to invest their funding and confidence) are able to complete their projects because the financing they had counted on was secured.

þ Donate money or resources. The MHT Federal Historic Tax Credit Advocacy Campaign needs funding to support marketing efforts, travel expenses and administrative assistance. Our organizational funding, like many others, was dramatically cut in 2016, requiring that we depend on the financial support of our friends unlike ever before. If you’ve benefited from the state or federal tax credit, please carefully consider a contribution to assure the future of these programs.

þ Become a member of MHT. Investment begins at just $35/year.

Mississippi Heritage Trust led an advocacy effort during the 2016 Mississippi Legislative Session, during which our leaders decided that the Mississippi Historic Tax Credit was worth saving. Original legislation called for the program to be renewed and the aggregate cap raised from $60 million to $100 million.

MISSISSIPPI HERITAGE TRUST P.O. Box 577 • Jackson, MS 39205 (601) 354-0200 www.mississippiheritage.com www.ms10most.com www.savemyplacems.com www.listenupms.com www.lovemsmod.com

Those we’ve spoken with say they plan to pursue future preservation projects because the tax credits make them financially viable.

However, there’s one enormous problem:

The Federal Historic Tax Credit is now at risk for elimination.

Data source: National Park Service, 2015

! (Corinth 6

The Historic Tax Credit (HTC) is the most significant federal financial commitment to historic preservation. Over the last 36 years, the credit has created 2.5 million jobs, leveraged $117 billion in investment, and rehabilitated more than 41,250 buildings — all while generating enough in federal taxes to pay for itself. Unfortunately, this credit is in danger. The Republican tax reform task force in the U.S. House of Representatives released a proposal for tax reform on June 24, 2016 that would require the elimination of hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits and deductions in order to achieve a 20% corporate tax rate. $4.25m in Federal Historic Tax Credits Dale Partners Architects

Starkville & Mississippi State have a game-changer, T H E M I L L (E.E. Cooley Building)

Though no community development measures were singled out for retention, we know from Capitol Hill conversations that the HTC program is at risk. To ensure our nation’s continued investment, help us spread the word about how the tax credit works. Historic rehabilitation creates thousands of local, highpaying, high-skilled jobs every year. According to research conducted by Rutgers University’s Center for Urban Policy Research, the federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) created 77,762 new jobs in FY 2014. Over 2.4 million jobs have been created over the life of the program. The Historic Tax Credit leverages private investment five times the cost of the program. For every $1.00 in HTCs, $5.00 in private investment is leveraged. Taken over the life of the program, the HTC is responsible for over $117 billion in new investment in our urban and rural communities.

$4.5m in Federal Historic Tax Credits

Duvall Decker Architects Venyu Solutions Tier III Data Center at the former MCRAE’S MEADOWBROOK

Historic preservation stimulates the local economy. Over three-quarters of the economic benefits generated by rehabilitation remains in the local communities and states where the projects are located. This reflects the fact the labor and materials for historic rehabilitations tend to be hired or purchased locally. Rehabilitation of historic buildings “primes the economic pump.” $1 million invested in historic rehabilitation produces markedly better economic impact in terms of jobs, wages, and federal-state-and-local taxes than a similar investment in new construction, highways, manufacturing, agriculture, and telecommunications. 1

$24m in Federal Historic Tax Credits

Gulfport’s renaissance is coming with the CENTENNIAL PLAZA

On average, the credit leverages

Since inception, the HTC has rehabilitated more than 41,250 buildings, created 2.5 million jobs and leveraged

$5 dollars

of private investment

for every $1 dollar

in federal funding creating highly effective public-private partnerships.

(Hernando! ! ( Holly Springs ( ! (Oxford !

! (4 Clarksdale

! (

3 Baldwyn New Albany 3 Tupelo

! (

(Water Valley !

§ ¦ ¨ 55

! (

2 Cleveland

$117 billion

Greenwood 3 Carrollton

! ( 7

(Aberdeen !

! (

(Leland !

in private investment nationwide.

Lexington ! (

West Point 3

! (

! (4

Starkville

! (

13 Columbus

! (3 Louisville

( !

! (2 Lexington ! (4 Canton

The cumulative

$24 billion

cost of this program has been more than offset by the

$28.6 billion

in federal tax receipts generated solely by these rehabilitation projects.

! (

Without the HTC market forces would drive investment away from more expensive rehabilitation and urban cores and toward more predictable new construction in the suburbs.

Historic rehabilitation is green. Recycling old buildings reduces landﬁll waste and saves energy by reusing existing materials rather than manufacturing new building components such as doors, windows, rooﬁng and framing. Reusing existing buildings almost always offers environmental savings over demolition and new construction - even if that new construction is energyefficient.3

§ ¦ ! ¨ 20

! (

9 Vicksburg 25 Jackson 2 Raymond

! (

14 1

Meridian

(Crystal Springs ! (Port Gibson !

!

22 2 Natchez

! (2 Laurel

! (Brookhaven 9

10 Hattiesburg ( !5 Columbia! ! (5 Mccomb (

! (

3 Woodville

§ ¦ ¨ 59

Mississippi Federal Historic Tax Credit Projects

!

(Pascagoula 12 2 Gulfport !

Federal Historic Projects period following the requirements for Tax theCredit ﬁve-year 25 50 1 10 project’s!( completion. That6 toequates to a project0success ! ( rate of over 99 percent, despite recent economic 2 to 5 11 and over ! ( conditions.4

±

! (

Provided by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Historic Tax Credit Co

Excerpted frominformation, the National Trust Historic Preservation andRelations the National For more contact Shawfor Sprague, Director of Government & Policy Trust | (202) 588-6339 | ssp Community Investment Corporation.

The Historic Tax Credit investment is a sound investment. Over the last ten years, less than 1 percent of all historic tax credit projects have failed to meet IRS compliance

1 Kansas case study, Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, 2010 2 Compilation of National Park Service HTC Quarterly Reports from 2002-2008 3 National Trust for Historic Preservation, “The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse” 4 Novogradac & Company, “Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Recapture Survey”

Economic Impacts of HTC Investment, 2002-2015 Mississippi

Alabama

Arkansas

Tennessee

Louisiana

Georgia

Number of Projects:

202

117

169

691

388

Development Costs:

$323,429,039

$225,638,559

$164,520,286

$600,669,702

$2,324,750,229

$545,768,036

Total QREs:

$268,446,102

$187,280,004

$136,551,837

$498,555,852

$1,929,542,690

$452,987,470

$53,689,220

$37,456,001

$27,310,367

$99,711,170

$385,908,538

$90,597,494

6,390

3,584

3,390

9,390

41,365

8,380

Federal HTC Amount: Total Jobs Created: Construction:

3,136

1,746

1,645

4,428

19,212

3,710

Historic Tax Credits drive investment to low-Income neighborhoods. Since 2002, more than 84% of all HTC projects have been located in neighborhoods with family incomes at or below 80% of the area median.2 This new investment can start a cycle of economic revitalization, encourage additional investments, raise property values and create a safer and more secure environment.

Permanent:

3,254

1,838

1,745

4,962

22,153

4,670

$312,683,500

$207,989,500

$165,678,800

$588,471,900

$2,274,303,400

$555,301,100

This is a government program that more than pays for itself. The cumulative $24 billion cost of the HTC program is more than offset by the $28.6 billion in federal taxes these projects have generated.

Total Income (Net of Taxes) Generated: Household:

$170,082,800

$113,313,700

$90,048,900

$319,569,700

$1,237,636,400

$301,662,900

Business:

$142,600,700

$94,675,800

$75,629,900

$268,902,200

$1,036,667,000

$253,638,200

Total Taxes Generated:

$68,380,000

$41,046,100

$33,482,600

$114,351,700

$480,106,200

$114,037,500

Local:

$9,294,000

$2,938,800

$2,197,000

$11,955,800

$53,832,500

$10,980,600

State:

$9,484,600

$5,050,200

$5,065,200

$9,265,000

$64,627,900

$15,067,300

$49,601,400

$33,057,100

$26,220,400

$93,130,900

$361,645,800

$87,989,600

Federal:

100

QRE = Qualified Rehabilitation Expenditures • Source: National Park Service