January 3, 2019 | Community Spotlight: Historic Tax Credits Help to Complete Hastings Brewery Lofts Project | 
Photo credit: Randal Chick, Director Business Improvement at District Community Redevelopment Authority

A historic building in Hastings sees new life thanks to historic tax credit programs offered through History Nebraska. Partners cut the ribbon of the Brewery Lofts, Hastings newest affordable housing development, on December 10, 2018.

Originally built in 1908, the two historic buildings once served as the factory and bottling facilities for the Hastings Brewery Company. Since that time, the buildings were used for meat packing, cold storage, and ice cream production before shuttering their doors. In 2015, the Cohen-Esrey Development Group purchased the empty buildings and began development of contemporary, affordable housing that paid tribute to the buildings historic character.
 
Due to the buildings’ listing on the National Register of Historic Places and meeting specific requirements, the project qualified for the state and federal historic tax credit programs which will allow for up to one million dollars from the state program and $1.3 million from the federal program.
 
“The Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office and History Nebraska are thrilled to have been able to provide a program that would help enable the Hastings Brewery to be rehabilitated and find a new use as low-income housing,” says Jill Dolberg, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer for History Nebraska.
 
The Nebraska Historic Tax Credit Program provides incentives for retaining historic character to renovation projects. The program provides a 20% tax credit up to one million dollars to offset qualifying renovation costs. The federal program also offers a 20% tax credit with no dollar limit. Dolberg says the program helps many developers across the state and has the opportunity to help even more.
 
“The Nebraska Historic Tax Credit is a great program that helps keep our state’s historic buildings relevant and accessible. The program helps provide that extra incentive that allows a project to become something special, and in this case, provides 35 low-income housing units for the Hastings. We hope development groups across the state contact us to learn how the program can benefit their project.“

Learn more about History Nebraska at https://history.nebraska.gov.