State historic tax credit aiding Peoria's Warehouse District may get one-year extension
11/29/2016
PEORIA - A state historic tax credit that city officials and developers alike have called vital to growth Downtown and in the Warehouse District may be getting new life in the Legislature.
After months of being stalled, lawmakers unanimously passed out of committee on Tuesday a one-year extension of the River's Edge pilot program that offers credits to developers of historic buildings in Peoria, Rockford, Aurora, Elgin and East St. Louis.
"Its expiration would've had a chilling effect on some of the momentum we've seen in the Warehouse District," Peoria Assistant City Manager Chris Setti said Tuesday night as he returned from the hearing at the Capitol.
The vote at the start of the second and final week of the fall veto session was bipartisan.
Peoria legislators - who have Democratic and Republican members in the House and Senate alike - have strongly advocated for an extension.
"Today was a huge day for Peoria," state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, said after the vote.
Though few tax credits were being discussed for renewal absent a comprehensive state budget agreement, Gordon-Booth pushed for a hearing last year to discuss the River's Edge renewal "just to keep energy around the bill. We didn't want the momentum to die. We wanted it to stay on the tip of people's tongues in case there was a window for movement."
The program is slated to expire at year's end after a five-year pilot effort. Originally, lawmakers had proposed extending it for five years, but - politics being the art of the possible - a one-year reprieve and further discussions on this, and other tax credits around the state, was the solution that developed traction.
A University of Illinois-Springfield study says such credits return $10 for every $1 invested. Other states with historic tax credits have seen a return on their investment to state coffers within the first year of awarding them.
The credits have been used in Peoria on a variety of buildings in the Warehouse District, including at 214 Pecan and at the Murray building, but have also seen use elsewhere in the city's Downtown, including at the Cornerstone Building that now houses Obed & Isaac's Microbrewery and Eatery, the Kickapoo Building on Main Street that houses thirty-thirty Coffee Co., and the Marquette Building down the street at 701 Main St. now under renovation into apartments and medical offices.
"The one-year extension helps," Setti said, though the city and other backers around the state will continue to push for a longer-term deal.
"We're excited to be able to continue to vigorously advocate for the development of the Warehouse District and Downtown," he said.
A House floor vote is expected as soon as Thursday on the measure, Senate Bill 1488, with a concurrence vote to follow in the Senate.
Source: www.pjstar.com
After months of being stalled, lawmakers unanimously passed out of committee on Tuesday a one-year extension of the River's Edge pilot program that offers credits to developers of historic buildings in Peoria, Rockford, Aurora, Elgin and East St. Louis.
"Its expiration would've had a chilling effect on some of the momentum we've seen in the Warehouse District," Peoria Assistant City Manager Chris Setti said Tuesday night as he returned from the hearing at the Capitol.
The vote at the start of the second and final week of the fall veto session was bipartisan.
Peoria legislators - who have Democratic and Republican members in the House and Senate alike - have strongly advocated for an extension.
"Today was a huge day for Peoria," state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, said after the vote.
Though few tax credits were being discussed for renewal absent a comprehensive state budget agreement, Gordon-Booth pushed for a hearing last year to discuss the River's Edge renewal "just to keep energy around the bill. We didn't want the momentum to die. We wanted it to stay on the tip of people's tongues in case there was a window for movement."
The program is slated to expire at year's end after a five-year pilot effort. Originally, lawmakers had proposed extending it for five years, but - politics being the art of the possible - a one-year reprieve and further discussions on this, and other tax credits around the state, was the solution that developed traction.
A University of Illinois-Springfield study says such credits return $10 for every $1 invested. Other states with historic tax credits have seen a return on their investment to state coffers within the first year of awarding them.
The credits have been used in Peoria on a variety of buildings in the Warehouse District, including at 214 Pecan and at the Murray building, but have also seen use elsewhere in the city's Downtown, including at the Cornerstone Building that now houses Obed & Isaac's Microbrewery and Eatery, the Kickapoo Building on Main Street that houses thirty-thirty Coffee Co., and the Marquette Building down the street at 701 Main St. now under renovation into apartments and medical offices.
"The one-year extension helps," Setti said, though the city and other backers around the state will continue to push for a longer-term deal.
"We're excited to be able to continue to vigorously advocate for the development of the Warehouse District and Downtown," he said.
A House floor vote is expected as soon as Thursday on the measure, Senate Bill 1488, with a concurrence vote to follow in the Senate.
Source: www.pjstar.com
 |