Hamilton: Cultural district provides tax credits, exemptions

Residents and business owners within the city’s new cultural district now have the opportunity to apply for tax credits relating to historic preservation and rehabilitation and to receive tax exemptions for original, one-of-a-kind works of art, Gaye Hamilton, Louisiana cultural district program manager, said Wednesday
Hamilton spoke Wednesday at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium to discuss the city’s new cultural district that was created July 1.
Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said resident Herman Hartman and Morgan City native Lucien Cutrera brought the idea to create a cultural district quite a few years ago. “It’s finally made it full circle,” Grizzaffi said.
The district will give citizens an opportunity to take advantage of tax credits on a federal level and the state level, and gives people the opportunity to rehab older buildings and possibly put up some newer buildings in certain areas, Grizzaffi said.
Hamilton has been working with the cultural district program since before it was actually a program, she said. The program came about as a result of the Cultural Economy Initiative started in 2004 and 2005 under former Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu’s administration, she said.
Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne has encouraged the growth of the program, Hamilton said. The idea for the program came from the notion that some of the state’s greatest natural resources are its artistic and cultural talents, she said.
In 2008, the state accepted the first applications to become cultural districts, and 75 districts have now been certified across the state, Hamilton said.
The Morgan City Cultural District was intended to include the Main Street community in addition to areas that were ripe for redevelopment, Hamilton said.
“The cultural district program is really intended as a tool for local governments to help revitalize their community by creating hubs of cultural activity or encouraging those hubs that already exist through tax incentives,” Hamilton said.
With Morgan City’s rich heritage in the shrimp, and oil and gas industries, anything relating to those types of traditional heritage needs to be relished and celebrated, Hamilton said.
The cultural districts have created more cultural activity and more commerce in the member communities, she said.
The cultural district program does not place any additional restrictions on member communities, Hamilton said. She called the program “zoning neutral.”
The district gives exemptions on state and local sale of original, one-of-a-kind works of art, Hamilton said. Tax incentive programs are also available in the form of the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, Louisiana State Commercial Tax Credit and Louisiana State Residential Tax Credit.
The Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit is a federal tax credit that encourages the preservation of historic buildings through incentives to support the rehabilitation of historic and older buildings, according to a document Hamilton provided.
To be eligible for the credit, the property must be income producing and individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places or be a contributing element within a National Register Historic District, the document stated.
The Louisiana State Commercial Tax Credit encourages the preservation of historic buildings through incentives to support document of older buildings, the document stated. To be eligible this credit, the property must be income producing and a contributing element within a downtown development district or cultural district as determined by the Division of Historic Preservation, the document says.
The Louisiana State Residential Rehabilitation Tax Credit encourages taxpayers to preserve and improve their homes by offering a tax credit on rehabilitation costs, the document says. The eligibility requirement is that the building must be owner-occupied and a contributing element to a National Register District, locally designated historic district, or a downtown development district, a residential structure that is listed or eligible for listing the National Register, or a vacant and blighted building at least 50 years old, according to the document.
The only requirement to maintain cultural district status is for the city to fill out an annual report, Hamilton said.
To view the Morgan City Cultural District map, visit http://www.crt.state.la.us/cultural-development/arts/cultural-districts/.... To learn more about the cultural district program, go to http://www.crt.state.la.us/cultural-development/arts/cultural-districts/....