Kenosha State of Downtown Report.indd - The Lakota Group

SECTION 2: LAND USE AND PHYSICAL CONDITIONS
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
In addition to local Historic District designation, three of the
four districts – Library Park, Third Avenue and Civic Center–
are listed as districts in the National Register of Historic
Places, which is this nation’s official list of historic buildings,
structures and places worthy of preservation. The National
Register is maintained by the National Park Service (NPS) and
administered in Wisconsin by the Wisconsin State Historical
Society (State Historic Preservation Office-SHPO) in Madison.
The National Register was established under provisions of
the National Historic Preservation Act, passed by the U.S.
Congress in 1966. It is unclear why the Pearl Street Historic
District remains the only local district not listed in the National
Register.
To be listed in the National Register of Historic Places, a group
of properties that may comprise a district must meet one of four
criteria for historic and architectural significance established by
the National Park Service. The criteria recognizes properties
that have made significant contributions to the broad patterns
of our nation’s history; those that are associated with the
lives of significant persons; or that embody the distinctive
characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or
that represents the work of a master and possess high artistic
values. Other properties or sites may be significant for yielding,
or may likely to yield, information important in prehistory or
history.
Unlike City of Kenosha Historic District designation, National
Register listing provides no protection or design review for
alterations or demolitions to properties within a District, unless
federally funded, licensed or permitted actions are involved.
For example, if a road improvement project financed partially
through Federal dollars significantly impacts historic resources
within a National Register District, a mediation process is
required between the project sponsor and the Wisconsin SHPO
to mitigate against adverse impacts with alternative solutions.
For commercial and income-producing properties, one
significant benefit of National Register listing is eligibility in
the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program (HPTC).
The program provides a 20 percent credit against income
taxes for substantial rehabilitation of a historic building in
which rehabilitation costs must be equal to or greater than
the adjusted basis of the property (determined by subtracting
the cost of the land, improvements already made, and any
depreciation already taken). Property owners and developers
considering a tax credit project must also follow a three-part
application process with the Wisconsin SHPO and NPS to
determine if the building is a “certified historic structure”
(individually eligible to the National Register or located in
a National Register District) and eligible to take the credit.
Projects must also conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s
Standard for Rehabilitation – standards that ensure a given
property’s architectural significance is maintained through the
preservation of historic materials and features. In addition to
the 20 percent credit, a 10 percent tax credit is available for the
rehabilitation of non-historic buildings placed in service before
1936. The Wisconsin SHPO administers a 5 percent State tax
credit that may be combined with the Federal tax credits for
qualified rehabilitation expenditures
The Federal and State of Wisconsin Tax Credit
programs are significant incentives to encourage the
rehabilitation and adaptive use of eligible historic
commercial buildings in downtown Kenosha. However,
according to the Wisconsin SHPO, no tax credit project
has been undertaken in Kenosha since 1989, and only
four projects have been documented since the Federal
program was started in 1986. Nationally, the Federal
HPTC has leveraged $63 billion in rehabilitated historic
commercial buildings.
Elks Club Building
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CITY OF KENOSHA, WISCONSIN
KENOSHA DOWNTOWN STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN: STATE OF THE DOWNTOWN
LAND USE AND PHYSICAL CONDITIONS