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Developing Thriving Communities:
Federal & State Tax Credits Drive Sustainable Outcomes

September 6-7, 2007
Renaissance St. Louis Grand & Suites Hotel
St. Louis, Mo.

Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. • Friday: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

 

Conference Registration  
September 6-7, 2007
Developing Thriving Communities
Federal & State Tax Credits Drive Sustainable Outcome

  
Related Workshops  
September 5, 2007
Pre-Conference Workshop: Historic Tax Credit Basics (optional)  
September 6-7, 2007 LIHTC Property Compliance Workshop (separate registration required)  

Agenda

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Day One
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Registration and Networking Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Welcome and Attendee Introductions
10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. Washington Wire
The historic rehabilitation tax credit has been one of the most powerful and effective tools for spurring rehab for both housing and commercial buildings, and on February 14, Sens. Blanche L. Lincoln, D-Ark., Gordon H. Smith, R-Ore., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., introduced legislation that would make improvements to the program to allow it to be used more effectively with the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC). Attend this session to hear a timely discussion on the federal aspects of the credit that at the federal level offers a 20 percent tax credit for the preservation and adaptive reuse of commercial and income-producing buildings and what developers and investors can look forward to in their efforts to revive the nation’s historic places.
11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. State of the States: Significant Tax Credit Activities in Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina and New York
Recognizing the success of the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit program, more than half of the states have adopted laws creating credits against state taxes to provide incentives for the rehabilitation of historic buildings. The programs vary, but many states provide tax credits for the rehabilitation of owner-occupied residences and non-income producing buildings, as well as additional tax credits for commercial and income-producing buildings. This session will look at the status of and recent changes to state credits from Missouri and Ohio, to North Carolina and New York where we will explore that state's rehabilitation tax credit that was passed in 2006 and enhanced in June of this year.
12:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. Keynote Speaker Luncheon
Honorable Francis Slay
Mayor of St. Louis
2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. The Tax and Legal Aspects of Tax Credits: Avoiding the Dangers
Come and listen while experts discuss the technical legal and tax pitfalls as well as opportunities related to using tax credits. The careful selection of legal structures can be critical to the efficient use of state tax credits. Learn what the considerations are to negotiating an exit structure for the investor partner. Sit in on this session as professionals discuss partnership and deal structures, including the single entity structure; lease arrangements, the importance of financial projections; and profit motive.
3:00 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. State Tax Incentives Boost Worth of Federal New Market Tax Credits
Combining state tax incentives with new market tax credits (NMTC) can lead to increased equity for new market tax credit projects. Such incentives may lead to an increase in investments in very low-income communities that may otherwise not be able to attract private capital. Learn how such incentives as state-level NMTC-based credits, SBA loans, the Community Reinvestment Act, USDA loan guaranty programs and other investment vehicles work together to enhance the NMTC program.
4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. Combining Federal and State HTCs: Adding Value to Preservation
Many states have learned that “twinning” the state with the federal rehabilitation tax credits can create an even greater incentive to rehabilitation, allowing a developer to take as much as 45 percent of the cost of rehabilitation of an historic structure as a tax credit and make previously unfeasible projects successful investments. Attend this panel to learn about these useful state subsidies, the legal structuring, tax and pricing issues related to the inclusion of state credits, and find out through case studies how state credits impact sources of funds. In most cases these tax credits take a form similar to the federal income tax credit for historic rehabilitation. 
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Networking Reception
6:30 p.m. Day One Concludes

Friday, September 7, 2007

Day Two

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Registration and Networking Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. Finding the Dollars: How to Tap Into the Equity Market for Your Tax Credit Project
The reality of the historic rehabilitation tax credit is that most syndicators are interested only in larger projects of $4 million or more, which puts many projects in smaller communities and Main Street downtowns in a bind. Attend this session to learn how projects large and small can attract syndicators who will direct the credits to an entity that has a sufficient tax liability, providing the developer with the needed infusion of equity. In addition, investment banking firms can provide direct equity investment for historic rehabilitation tax credit, such as Bank of America's Community Development Banking group that has invested tax credit equity to projects eligible for both federal and state historic tax credits, providing much needed up-front cash.
10:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. Formula for Success: HTC + the NMTC — Two-hour Presentation
Combining the historic tax credit with the new markets tax credit has resulted in very successful rehabilitations, but is it worth the very real and very knotty challenges of the differing rules and restrictions, financing requirements, investment holding periods and other financial considerations? Find out at this two-hour session that will not only examine the rules, requirements and restrictions but also explore a couple of very successful ventures that took the multi-tax credit path with its inherent risks and ultimate rewards.
11:50 a.m. Conference Concludes