The Neighborhood Effects of Federal Historic Tax Credits in Six Legacy Cities

Kelly L. Kinahan

Housing Policy Debate, 2019, vol. 29, issue 1, 166-180

Abstract: Since the program’s inception in 1976, the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (RTC) has supported more than 42,000 projects and $84 billion of rehabilitation work. Through 2016, this tax incentive created or retained nearly 550,000 housing units. Despite its role as an important housing redevelopment incentive, the effects of Historic Tax Credit projects on neighborhood change are largely unknown. This research uses data from Federal Historic Tax Credit projects between 1998 and 2010 to examine the neighborhood-level effects of these investments in six legacy cities (Baltimore, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Providence, Richmond, and St. Louis). The difference-in-differences regression model reveals minimal significant changes in socioeconomic characteristics and no significant changes in racial or housing composition. Although neighborhood change is limited overall, RTC housing activity does significantly increase median household income. There is also evidence of significant increases in the share of low-income households where the RTC creates or rehabilitates affordable units.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1080/10511482.2018.1452043

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