19242 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS July 16, 1985 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE: tax credit for 25 percent of the cost of reha­ 250,000 buildings are listed on the National THE HISTORIC REHABILITA­ bilitating certified historic buildings. Register of Historic Places. Only a few of TION TAX CREDIT When Chairman Dan Rostenkowski and those can, or should, be museums. The Chairman Robert Packwood and the other others will survive only if they can be made members of the House Ways and Means and to serve as some one's home, office, business HON. WIWAM J. COYNE Senate Finance Committees review the his­ or factory. OF PENNSYLVANIA toric rehabilitation tax credit on its own We need others to do that kind of work IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES merits, as they will, they will discover that because we don't do it. We need the develop­ here is one of the few remaining, and cer­ ers and the business community to invest Tuesday, July 16, 1985 tainly one of the most effective, mecha­ their dollars and energy. That's why the Na­ •Mr. COYNE. Mr. Speaker, who has nisms for community revitalization and eco­ tional Trust and other members of the pres­ not walked down a familiar street and, nomic development. And they will discover ervation community including Preservation that here is a proper use of the tax code to Action and the American Institute of Archi­ after surveying an uninspired set of correct the marketplace's obvious under­ tects sought preservation tax incentives. modern buildings, paused to think not valuation of retaining significant parts of And now that we have the developers with about what is but what was? If we are America's heritage. us, now that we have the tool that does the in a particularly reflective mood, we The elimination of the historic rehabilita­ job, now that we have the historic rehabili­ might wonder what might have been. tion tax credit would have a devastating tation tax credit, we aren't about to lose it. What would be the ambiance of a effect on revitalization prospects for cities Let me say this directly. Developers don't popular neighborhood intersection if and would doom thousands of historic build­ need this incentive. Historic buildings need ings to demolition. Already, the threat of it. Real estate developers and investors will the old bank building had not been the legislation has shelved projects torn down? continue to make money with or without throughout the nation. These projects will historic rehabilitation tax incentives. Would the downtown area be a bit not be undertaken if the incentives are lost. They'll put their dollars into what will give more vibrant if we had preserved the More than twenty-five years ago, Jane them the best return, whether it is subur­ graceful if underutilized old train sta­ Jacobs wrote "The Death and Life of Great ban shopping centers, office towers or tion? American Cities." Then, many did argue luxury townhouses. What we want them to The marketplace allows little room strenuously with her conclusions about the do is put their dollars into historic build­ contributions made by "a good lot of plain, ings. for this type of reflection. Develop­ ordinary old buildings." No longer. In large cities, projects aided by the his­ ment, especially in our urban areas, In the past six months, my first as Presi­ usually favors the new at the expense dent of the National Trust, I have travelled toric rehabilitation tax credit serve as an­ of the old. Historic structures give way almost non-stop and witnessed first hand chors for urban revitalization-both phys­ how preservation and reuse have been em­ ically and spiritually. The Old Post Office to newer, more profitable buildings. Building and the Willard Hotel across the The wrecking ball becomes the symbol braced. street from here, St. Louis' soon to be fin­ of urban development, even in historic Mayors of Chicago, Providence, Boston, Philadelphia, Savannah and Dallas admit­ ished Union Station retail, commercial and areas. ted, even strenuously boasted, that historic hotel complex, and the Chicago Theater­ Since 1981, that symbol has been preservation was a cornerstone of future now saved from the wrecking ball-are all seen less frequently in historic areas prosperity for their cities. fine examples. Cities successfully capitalize even as development continues apace. The leaders of Joliet, Illinois are counting on their historic resources to induce invest­ This is because an addition to the tax on the restoration of the Rialto Theater to ment, create jobs and stimulate tourism. law, the historic rehabilitation tax be the key to a vital future for that belea­ The rebirth of many historic small-town credit, encourages the conservation of guered city. main streets demonstrates that concerted And, the first new business to open in action by merchants, landlords and city offi­ historic properties. According to the years in Jim Thorpe, a Pennsylvania town cials when linked to the historic rehabilita­ National Trust for Historic Preserva­ of only 5,000 people, is in an old building tion tax credit can lead to economic renew­ tion, this 25-percent tax credit has en­ alive again because of the historic rehabili­ al. For example, in Athens, Georgia, one of couraged $5 billion in private invest­ tation tax credit. the towns aided by our National Main ment in more than 6,800 buildings As president of the National Trust you Street Center, 19 tax credit projects have since 1981. would expect me to support measures that meant $11.3 million of private investment in J. Jackson Walter, the president of keep historic buildings in use and I do. That their downtown. the National Trust for Historic Preser­ is what our Congressional charter demands In many historic downtowns, there are and what the National Trust is all about. few housing opportunities, especially for vation, described the impact the his­ You may know us best as the curator and low and moderate income renters. Rent con­ toric rehabilitation tax credit has had steward of fine museum houses such as Ste­ trol and declining neighborhood image have during its brief history in a recent phen Decatur's house on Lafayette Square, led to extensive abandonment. The preser­ speech to the National Press Club. At Woodrow Wilson's house in Kalorama, and vation tax incentives are available for rental this point, I would like to include in how James Madison's Virginia home, Mont­ housing rehabilitation and have enabled ex­ the RECORD a copy of those remarks. pelier. But we also helped a San Francisco isting owners and residents to create hous­ neighborhood group rehabilitate an old ing opportunities and to enhance neighbor­ TAX REFORM AND THE PRESERVATION OF hood property values. To date, housing re­ AMERICA' S HERITAGE Chinatown hotel so 82 low-income elderly tenants would not have to be thrown out of habilitation represents more than half of <By J. Jackson Walter, President, National their single-room apartments. the total number of tax aided historic reha­ Trust for Historic Preservation) We received a lot of public attention when bilitation projects. A possibly unintended consequence of the we helped save the last original facade of Through the National Trust's Inner-City Administration's tax reform proposal would the U.S. Capitol two years ago. We are just Ventures Fund we have supported housing be the virtual termination of work on the as proud to have helped restore the store­ rehabilitation projects in more than 30 low­ rehabilitation of important older buildings fronts of 650 buildings in 30 small towns and moderate-income neighborhoods. Most all across this country. And that's a great through our National Main Street Center. of the community-based organizations that deal of work: over the past three years, we We have learned how to care for wonder­ received our low-interest loans and grants are talking about more than five billion dol­ ful old houses Ike Jay Gould's Lyndhurst have used the tax credit to attract private lars of rehab investment in 6,800 buildings. and like Drayton Hall in Charleston-and investors to their projects. There are people This good work would stop because the Ad­ we've become sophisticated and knowledgea­ in the Frog Hollow neighborhood of Hart­ ministration's tax reform proposal recom­ ble in urban planning and local politics. ford, in Atlanta's Cabbagetown and on the mends elimination of the tax code's incen­ We've had to. We must work with those who Over-The-Rhine section of Cincinnati, the tive for historic rehabilitation, which is a control the future of our heritage. About city's large:st and poorest neighborhood, e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by the Member on the floor. July 16, 1985 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 19243 whose hope for a decent place to live de­ under existing zoning and the movement of tors on tours of rehabilitation projects and pends on these incentives. economic activity to the suburbs conspire to gathering the facts to support our case. The strong support for the historic preser­ drive investment to new construction and Their message is clear and simple. The vation tax credit by organizations such as away from historic buildings. The market preservation tax incentives are a success, the National Association of Housing and Re­ simply does not recognize, nor reward, the working just as intended to stimulate pri­ development Officials and the National public benefits gained from preserving our vate investment in our nation's cities and Leased Housing Association is evidence of heritage and building livable cities.