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Daily Real Estate News | July 25, 2008
Developers See Perks in Old Buildings
Increasingly, developers are choosing to turn old factory buildings into new housing and other developments.
"The cost to acquire a vacant building is more favorable than hard construction costs for a new building today," says Larry Curtis, a managing partner of WinnCompanies, which recently began work on five mill projects in Massachusetts. "The approval process is generally much easier than it is for getting something built from the ground up."
Another advantage is the federal and state tax credits for preserving historical property. The number of applicants seeking the incentives has risen dramatically since 2006, officials say.
There are also esthetic considerations that go beyond economic ones. "There is an element of hipness about these buildings," says John Schneider, executive vice president of the research institute MassINC, which is spearheading an effort to boost development in the state's smaller cities.
"There is an effort to rebuild downtown neighborhoods and create more exciting urban space."
Source: The Boston Globe, Ted Siefer, Josh Reynolds, Joanne Rathe (07/20/2008)
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