Missouri tops in historic building investments

Developers in the state invested nearly $535 million in the rehabilitation of historic buildings in Missouri town squares, rural farmsteads and urban areas certified for historic preservation tax credits, according to a news release from Blunt’s office.

According to fiscal 2007 statistics released by the National Park Service, Missouri ranked No. 1 in all three of the following categories:

• almost $535 million in upfront investment by developers;

• 174 projects received preliminary approval; and

• 189 projects received final approval.

Buildings throughout the state affected by those figures include schools, breweries, post offices, a newspaper building, a dairy and a St. Louis hotel built for the 1904 World’s Fair.

Springfield buildings eligible for the tax credits and private investment in 2007 included the Finkbiner Building, 509–13 W. Olive St., as well as properties on Commercial Street, Park Central Square, Boonville Avenue, Walnut Street, College Street and South Avenue.

“Many people want to visit, live and work in places that have a sense of

identity and history,” Blunt said in the release. “Preserving buildings makes that history visible to our children and grandchildren; it draws tourists searching for glimpses of our shared past; it creates jobs for the men and women in the construction industry; and it brings businesses into the state to invest.”

Blunt said both the National Park Service and other states attribute Missouri’s consistent high national standing in terms of private investments in historic buildings to the state’s historic rehab tax credit program, created by the Missouri General Assembly in 1997.

“Rehabbing a historic building conserves energy, helps reduce the amount of construction debris that goes into our landfills and takes advantage of ... existing utilities and infrastructure,” said Doyle Childers, director of the Department of Natural Resources, in the release.

DNR’s State Preservation Office oversees federally supported projects at the local level.