Combining Multiple Property Tax Exclusions for Re-Development Projects
<p>In a North Carolina town, a long-vacant historic mill with environmental contamination has sat empty on the edge of downtown for years. The Town has taken action to see the property transformed. Town staff worked through a brownfields process to clear the major environmental problems associated with the property, and the Town engaged the UNC Development Finance Initiative (DFI) to evaluate the financial feasibility of private development on the site and to attract a developer. Now a developer has proposed an adaptive reuse of the historic building that aligns with the Town’s interests. The developer hopes to take advantage of property tax exemptions to make the project work financially and asks whether the property can benefit from both the brownfields exclusion in G.S. 105-277.13 and the historic property exclusion in G.S. 105-278. When this question came to me, I initially thought it would be fairly simple to answer. After much research and discussion, I’ve discovered that this question is anything but simple. Nor is my answer.</p> <p>I think it is possible for the same owner and property to benefit from more than one property tax exclusion simultaneously. But it depends on the exclusions involved. Some exclusions permit simultaneous eligibility, others do not. Different exclusions may apply to different portions of a property. What’s more, even if a property may be eligible for multiple exclusions simultaneously the Machinery Act does not provide guidance on the appropriate calculation method.</p> <p>In other words, it’s complicated. Read on for the details.</p> <p>For the most part, the Machinery Act is silent about whether [...]</p>
