The Economic Impact of Historic Rehabilitation in West Virginia

Bowen, Eric; Evans, Brad; Matthews, Justin

Executive summary: "West Virginia has a rich tradition of preserving its historic treasures for the benefit of future generations. The state has more than 1,000 historic properties and historic districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places. These historic preservation initiatives can be more than a way of maintaining the state’s cultural heritage. They can also be an important source of economic development for regions that preserve their historic buildings. In this report we examine the economic impact associated with rehabilitating historic buildings and neighborhoods within West Virginia. In particular, we examine the effects of two incentive programs from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO): the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program, and the Historic Preservation Development Grant program, for the period between 2003 and 2013. These programs help property owners maintain or upgrade historic structures in a historically appropriate manner. In addition to the quantifiable impacts associated with construction projects, we also examine more qualitative economic impacts through the use of case studies that detail four of the state’s premier historic projects. Our primary findings (summarized in Table 1) are as follows: West Virginia property owners spent more than $121 million on historic preservation projects between 2003 and 2013. 128 rehabilitation projects totaling $110 million of spending were supported by the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program. 233 grants totaling $4.7 million were awarded by the State Historic Preservation Office between 2003 and 2013. These grants supported more than $10.7 million in construction projects. $192 million in economic impact was generated from rehabilitation projects supported by the state’s historic incentive programs. Nearly 800 direct jobs, and almost 1,400 total jobs once secondary impacts are included, were supported by historic rehabilitation projects during the time of construction. Every dollar spent by the state in tax incentives or grants supported $11.45 of output in the state economy." Funding was provided in part by a 2014 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the West Virginia University College of Business & Economics (project number WV-14-043) administered by the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office (grant number P14AF00034) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

The Economic Impact of Historic Rehabilitation in West Virginia

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