Gov. Greitens' tax commission should preserve historic tax credits

Cape Girardeau's downtown area is experiencing a new era of revitalization that is attracting new jobs and businesses while maintaining the historic character of our city. This economic revitalization is no accident. It's a combination of our community's leadership and vision combined with a key economic tool in the form of historic tax credits.

Gov. Eric Greitens' tax commission recently hosted a town hall meeting in our community to study tax credits like the historic tax credit we have leveraged to help rebuild our downtown area. We hope the commission understands the value of this program and what it means to our community. As the commission prepares its recommendations for Gov. Greitens we call for the preservation of historic tax credits.

Leveraging historic tax credits helped us achieve a Great American Main Street award in 2015. In receiving this honor, Cape Girardeau was praised for bringing together business, government and university partners to produce a creative corridor downtown and reinvigorate the riverfront. Our historic rehabilitation projects have created new housing, business incubators, working spaces and performing arts centers. The use of historic tax credits have not only saved buildings from demolition, they have helped maintain the character and authenticity of our downtown area, making it an even more attractive place to live, work and play.

One of many examples is the preservation of the only stone-front commercial building in Cape Girardeau near the old courthouse. This building was nearly demolished to make way for a new parking lot, until our community came together to find a better way to utilize this space. An historic tax credit was used to renovate this building into 24 living units in what is now one of the most beautiful buildings in our downtown area. Most importantly, it is attracting more people to live and work downtown and creating a more active and vibrant place for residents and visitors alike.

The Marquette Tech District is a major historic renovation development project that will have a significant economic impact by establishing a technology district expected to bring 200-300 talented, enterprising professionals to Cape Girardeau. Many of the buildings in this area have been lying dormant for years, but will soon be working to make the largest city in Southeast Missouri a technology center.

Vibrant areas like ours create a synergy, drawing people and businesses who are not from the area, or even the surrounding region. New business opportunities and investment in jobs result from a growing downtown area like we have in Cape Girardeau.

Some critics of historic tax credits make the mistake of asserting these initiatives only help larger communities like St. Louis and Kansas City. Others wrongly suggest they only help developers with large developments. We in Cape Girardeau know the facts: communities of all sizes benefit from these tax credits.

We urge the governor's tax commission to make recommendations that maintain economic development tools like historic tax credits.

Marla Mills is the executive director of Old Town Cape.