Leveraging historic tax credits to achieve local economic development goals

Many communities in Minnesota have successfully used state and federal historic tax credits to complete local economic development projects. Extension partnered with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to study how communities did this and identified three common approaches:

1. Leveraging private investment
2. Forming private-public partnerships
3. Building community partnerships

This webinar will provide an overview of Minnesota’s state historic tax credit, followed by case studies of underutilized historic properties transformed into housing. The speakers will close with a discussion of what this means for communities looking to use historic tax credits to meet local needs.

Our presenters

Brigid Tuck conducts analyses and writes reports for Extension’s Economic Impact Analysis (EIA) program, which she helped launch in 2009. Since then, the EIA program has issued studies covering numerous economic sectors in Minnesota, including tourism, education, manufacturing, retail, infrastructure and local foods.

Brigid has 20-plus years of experience using IMPLAN, the input-output modeling software used in economic impact analysis. She has completed three IMPLAN training courses and presents regularly at the national conference for IMPLAN users. 

Catherine Sandlund is a design reviewer with the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (NSHPO). She attended University of Minnesota where she acquired a Master of Science in Architecture – Heritage Preservation, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts.

Prior to joining the SHPO, Catherine worked as principal planner with Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development and preceding and at the Minnesota Historical Society in the Minnesota State Historical Department where she was the grant program design reviewer.

She was also the designer for the Minnesota Main Street program to encourage transformations of older historic commercial districts by using inclusive, comprehensive, people centered, and place-based approaches to community revitalization.