The Indiana General Assembly established the Industrial Recovery Tax Credit -- nicknamed the "Dinosaur Tax Credit" by state lawmakers -- to redevelop large, vacant, very old "dinosaur" industrial facilities that are considered both an eyesore and a financial drain on communities. It allows developers and communities to receive up to 25% of the cost of redevelopment in the form of state tax credits.
IEDC's Board of Directors unanimously approved the Dinosaur Tax Credit for the Kokomo apartment complex, allocating $5.235 million for the project. The city of Kokomo will contribute another $6.9 million in tax abatements, grants and other incentives. The developer will pay the remainder of the anticipated $23 million dollar price tag, according to IEDC.
The state's decision to grant the credit is especially unusual because Flaherty & Collins announced Tuesday that it plans to fund the project by selling the $5.235 million in state tax credits to a third-party investor in exchange for cash.
Dinosaur?
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More Flaherty/Indiana/shared-wall rentals coverage: same project, here; another project, in Indianapolis 'burbs, here. Rendering of beauty in the eye of the beholder, here. NOTE: The second reported project (the one in the rendering) was described without giving cost or financing detail within the cited article. Any reader discovering financing info for it is urged to submit a comment with a link.
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High-rise Flaherty subsidized shared-wall rental in downtown Indianapolis, is reported as slowly moving toward realization, details here.
Market Square Tower is getting off to a slow start, but the project is still a go, with groundbreaking expected in "very early 2015," said Brian Moore, the marketing director for the developer, Flaherty & Collins Properties.
The developer is still working on getting financing, Moore said.
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Kokomo Times, Dec. 10, 2014 reporting:
The developers are expected to build around 180 high-end units in the 104-year-old former Northern Indiana Supply Company building, 304 S. Main St., which will place the complex near the city’s new $9 million municipal baseball stadium.
“Flaherty & Collins is the most respected developer in the Midwest, “said Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight. “This is a really big deal.”
On Tuesday, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. unanimously approved $5.235 million in tax credits through the rarely-used Industrial Recovery Tax Credit, also known as the dinosaur tax credit.
The tax credit was established to help redevelop large, vacant, old buildings.
Because the building is more than 100 years old, the developers were able to claim the maximum possible from the dinosaur tax credit, which allows developers and communities to receive up to 25 percent of the cost of redevelopment in state tax credits.
“We are very happy with what has gone on so far with this project,” Goodnight said. “We very much appreciate the IEDC.”
Flaherty & Collins plans to fund the project by selling the $5.235 million to a third-party investor in exchange for cash, according to Indianapolis television station WTHR.
“Flaherty & Collins applied for the dinosaur tax, which was a very important hurdle,” said Goodnight. “However, we still have many more hurdles to jump.”
The city will contribute $6.9 million in tax abatements, grants and other incentives, while the developers will pay the estimated remaining $23 million of the project’s cost, according to WTHR.
A complete timeline for the project has yet to be set, but one should be announced within the next couple weeks, Goodnight said.
Plans presented at the IEDC meeting called for amenities such as granite countertops, hardwood floors, a swimming pool, a fire pit and high ceilings, WTHR reported. The apartments are expected to attract affluent tenants with a rental price of $1.15 a square foot.
"Flaherty & Collins is the most respected developer in the Midwest." Gotta be true. The mayor says so. Will he or some other official Kokomo decision maker end up with a spousal employment situation? Only time will tell.