A bill under consideration in Albany could help redevelopment of the Statler and the AM&As buildings. The “White Elephant Historic Tax Credit Enhancement Act (S.6021A Baskin/A10366 Hunter) would facilitate the rehabilitation and reuse of large, difficult to develop buildings across New York State. The bill is in the early stages of the legislative process.
The proposed legislation:
• Defines White Elephant Buildings as very large, difficult to develop, vacant structures having $50M or more in Qualified Rehabilitation Costs that have been vacant at least 10 of the last 15 years (approximately 35 buildings identified statewide).
• Increases the per-project cap of the NYS Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit from the current $5M to $15M for White Elephant Buildings to incentivize private investment.
• Extends the entire NYS Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program from 2030 to 2037, to allow time to plan and implement these larger projects.
• Would have no fiscal impacts to NYS in the upcoming fiscal year due to the time it will take to complete these large and complex White Elephant Projects.
The Preservation League of New York State has identified these properties as potential beneficiaries of the rule changes:
• AM&A’s Department Store
• Central Terminal
• Richardson Olmsted Campus
• The Sears Building, Syracuse
• Willard Asylum, Willard
• Glenwood Power Station, Yonkers
• Hudson River State Hospital, Poughkeepsie
• Bigelow -Sanford & Mohawk Carpet Mills, Amsterdam
• Mohawk Valley Cotton Mills, Utica
• Liggett Hall, Governor’s Island
• 23rd Regiment Armory, Brooklyn
• Bronx Borough Courthouse, Bronx
The New York State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program (NYSHTC) has been a cornerstone for successful revitalization throughout New York State for the last fifteen years. It has incentivized significant private investment, created space for housing and small businesses, generated good-paying construction jobs, prevented wasteful and costly demolitions, and leveraged federal funding and investments.
Since 2010, the NYSHTC has leveraged over $17 billion in total project costs from nearly 1,500 projects. These projects have created spaces for hotels, restaurants, small businesses, performance spaces, corporate headquarters and much more, including the creation of 14,000 units of housing, 4,300 of which are classified as low/moderate income units.
