Sponsored by The Trent Lott National Center for Excellence in Economic Development and Entrepreneurship
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November 9, 2015
                                                 
Mississippi's Historic Tax Credit
Good for Downtowns, Good for Neighborhoods, Good for Business
Written by: Lolly Barnes, Executive Director
Mississippi Heritage Trust
 
Enacted in 2006 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi's historic tax credit has made a world of difference in getting from "what if?" to the ribbon cutting. In the ten years since its adoption, the 25% state historic tax credit has been used to save 252 historic places, stimulating a total of $239,576,690 in historic rehabilitation expenditures. Mississippi's investment of $59,900,000 in state historic tax credits has incentivized an additional $45,793,040 in federal historic tax credits and $173,400,000 in direct private investment to rehabilitate historic buildings in the state. For the 121 projects that paired the state historic tax credit with the federal historic tax credit, every dollar of investment made by the state of Mississippi leveraged $4.68 of total construction spending.
 
The state tax credit has played a critical role in helping to save important buildings that otherwise would have been lost, including the King Edward Hotel in Jackson and the Old Pascagoula High School. In addition to commercial rehabilitations, Mississippi's historic tax credit can also be used for residential restorations, with 122 homeowners taking advantage of this incentive to restore their historic homes. In Hattiesburg, the state tax credit has helped to fund approximately fourteen restoration projects, including the Carter and America buildings.
 
With the failure of the state legislature to increase the $60 million dollar cap on the state historic tax credit during the 2015 legislative session, this popular and effective program has run out of funding. The loss of the state historic tax credit puts historic preservation projects large and small in jeopardy, which prompted the Mississippi Heritage Trust to name the Mississippi Historic Tax Credit as one of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi for 2015. Currently, there are twenty projects nearing completion that have applied to the program and would require a minimum of $9,340,000 million in tax credits. The decision to move forward with many other great preservation projects, like Calvary Baptist Church in West Jackson, depends on funding from state historic tax credits.
 
The Mississippi State University John C. Stennis Institute of Government recently completed a study on the economic and fiscal effects of Mississippi's state historic tax credit. These numbers prove the case that, in addition to more intangible benefits that come along with preserving our rich architectural heritage, historic preservation is good for business. Please let your elected officials hear from you that you want all the good things that come with Mississippi's historic tax credit, like local, highly paid construction jobs, revitalized downtowns and well-maintained historic neighborhoods.
 
Source of Data:
Mississippi State University John C. Stennis Institute of Government, The Economic and Fiscal Effects of The Mississippi Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program, August 2015. For a link to the study, please visit www.mississippiheritage.com.
 
Photo Caption:
The Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association is working with a developer to restore the Old Hattiesburg High School, listed as one of Mississippi's 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2003. The deal is contingent on funding from the state historic tax credit.
Johnson Joins TVA
Lee Johnson currently serves as Target Market Specialist for Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in Nashville, TN. At TVA, Lee will focus on business recruitment and development for TVA's multi-state territory specifically for general manufacturing, food processing, and will also manage the company's spec building program.   TVA is a public power company that provides electricity for business customers and local power distributors serving 9 million residents over 7 states. One of TVA's strategic missions is economic development and has been recognized as one of the "Top Utilities in Economic Development" by Site Selection for 10 years in a row.
 
Before joining TVA, Lee served as Project Manager, specializing in business development for the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance in South Alabama. Johnson has also previously served as an Intern of Economic Development at Electric Power Associations of Mississippi in Ridgeland, MS, as well as a graduate assistant for the Department of Economic and Workforce Development at The University of Southern Mississippi.
 
Johnson received a bachelor's degree in Marketing at The University of Southern Mississippi in 2011. He also received a Master's of Science in Economic Development from The University of Southern Mississippi the following year. Johnson is a former native of Jackson, MS and currently resides in Nashville, TN.
Executives On: Entrepreneurship
The University of Southern Mississippi College of Business and the Trent Lott National Center present Executives On: Entrepreneurship with Tom McDonnell, CEO, Franchise Services of North America. The event will take place on November 17 at 1pm in McDonnell Auditorium in Scianna Hall.
 
Tom McDonnell is chairman and CEO of Franchise Services of North America Inc. (FSNA)the holding company for several car rental brands operating more than 1,100 stores in many countries. Additionally, McDonnell is president of the LeFleur Transportation family of companies that provides non-emergency medical transportation services to government and corporate clients in various states.
 
McDonnell holds a BSBA from Southern Miss and remains an avid and committed supporter of the University. McDonnell is a current member and past president of the Southern Miss Business Advisory Council, a past member of the USM Foundation Board and Investment Committee, and the 2009 College of Business Boardman Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi Kidney Foundation, was awarded the Tip 40 Under 40, Mississippi Business Journal's Leading Business and Community Leadership Award, and is a generous supporter of many local and civic organizations.
 
The event is sponsored by the Comcast Foundation.
Southern Miss Economic Development | [email protected] | 118 College Drive #5191
Hattiesburg, MS 39401-0001