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The Near Westside Historic
District
Elmira, Chemung County
landmark status: State/National
Registers
threat: Deterioration;
lack of necessary financial tools to encourage rehabilitation and
redevelopment
Although New York
State established a rehabilitation tax credit program in 2006,
the current program provides incentives that restrict the residential
program to ultra-distressed census tracts so that very little historic
housing qualifies for its provisions. At present, very few cities—notably
Albany, Newburgh, Rochester and Buffalo—are positioned to benefit
from this program. The City of Elmira’s Near Westside
Historic District offers the League an opportunity to once again
feature a significant State and National Register listed neighborhood
as representative of the need for an enhanced residential rehabilitation
tax credit program. The Near Westside has 352 residential buildings
listed in the State and National Registers. Of these, only 56 qualify
for the existing rehabilitation tax credit program. The Preservation
League’s proposed enhancements would raise the number of
qualified buildings to 239 in the Near Westside neighborhood.
objectives: The Preservation
League advocates changes to the present residential rehabilitation
tax credit program to make it a more meaningful tool to encourage
statewide reinvestment in historic housing stock, increase home
ownership and encourage greater neighborhood stability, by using
Elmira as a powerful example.
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