When the recipients of Round 18 Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits were announced this past week, there was a very familiar community name included.

For only the second time since the initial round in 2007, and for the first time in 10 rounds of awards, a north central Ohio project was included. And, instead of being in Mansfield, Marion, Bucyrus, Galion, Ashland, or Upper Sandusky, both of those projects have been in the same small Ashland County village – Hayesville, population 461.

In 2007, a tax credit was awarded to the Vermilion Institute building, now beautifully restored. This time, the award was made to the Kelley Hardware – Odd Fellows Hall located at 7 East Main Street.

Once home to a first-floor hardware store and second-floor meeting hall, the building has been vacant for 10 years on the first floor and more than 50 years on the second floor. The building will be renovated into three apartment units at a total cost of $429,330. The tax credit award was $93,833.

The Ohio Development Services Agency awarded $34,977,855 in credits this round to 30 new applicants planning to rehabilitate 36 historic buildings. Together, the projects are expected to leverage approximately $523,148,620 in private investments in 13 communities. This is the first-time historic preservation tax credits have been awarded in Bedford, Fairview Park, Troy, and Urbana.

Of the Round 18 projects, notable inclusions are a $56 million project to bring back the venerable Dayton Arcade complex in downtown Dayton; a $233 million project to restore the Union Terminal in Cincinnati; and a $29 million transformation of the former home of the Columbus Dispatch across from the Ohio Statehouse.

“Preserving these historic buildings creates opportunities for small businesses and revitalizes downtowns,” said David Goodman, director of the Ohio Development Services Agency. “We’re capitalizing on what makes Ohio unique.”

The awards will assist private developers in rehabilitating historic buildings in downtowns and neighborhoods. Many of the buildings are currently vacant and generate little economic activity. Once rehabilitated, they will drive further investment and interest in adjacent properties. Developers are not issued the tax credit until project construction is complete and all program requirements are verified.

There has never been a completed Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit project undertaken  in Richland, Crawford, Wyandot, or Marion Counties.

Photo: Vermilion Institute building in Hayesville, a Round 8 Project — Creative Commons License

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