Historic Tax Credit
Clio Consulting, LLC is expert on preparation of all parts of the Historic Tax Credit application and on interpreting and applying the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Properties.
The federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program is preservation in action. Operated as a partnership among state historic preservation offices, the National Park Service, and the IRS, it offers developers a valuable credit of 20% of qualified expenses for the rehabilitation of historic income-producing properties according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. Many states, including PA, have a corresponding State Historic Tax Credit, which can add even more value.
More information from the National Park Service: (federal credit)
More information from the Commonwealth of PA: (PA state credit)
901-903 LIBERTY AVENUE
Beacon Communities
2024-2027
Clio Consulting is working with developers at Beacon Communities to utilize the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, together with the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, to rehabilitate the upper floors of two buildings in the Penn-Liberty Historic District. The Renshaw Building at 901 Liberty Avenue and the Kirkpatrick Building at 903 Liberty Avenue are both narrow, deep “sliver” buildings characteristic of the district. Though built at different times, both were historically associated with the grocery trade. After rehabilitation, they will house 50 affordable residential units with shared amenities and services on their basement and first floor levels.
BAYARD SCHOOL APARTMENTS
Q Development
2015-2018
Clio Consulting successfully applied for both the federal and PA Historic Tax Credits for the rehabilitation of this 1874 school building in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The building was in poor condition when it was offered for sale in 2015, and its likely fate was demolition. However, because it was listed in the National Register, a local developer, Q Development, knew it could utilize Historic Tax Credits to help finance a future for the school as apartments. During this process, a group of neighbors nominated the Bayard School to become a City Historic Landmark. Clio Consulting also assisted with obtaining Historic Review Commission approval for this rehabilitation.
CENTURY INN
Harrington Family
2016-2018
Listed in the National Register as one of Western Pennsylvania’s finest post-Colonial stone buildings, the Century Inn had been in continuous use as a hotel and tavern since its construction in 1788 in Scenery Hill, PA. On the night of August 18, 2015, a fire swept through the inn, destroying much of its historic fabric. The owners decided to rebuild and engaged Clio Consulting to prepare a Historic Tax Credit application for them to help finance not only reconstruction of the historic inn, but a compatible new addition to improve the experience of guests and employees. The Century Inn re-opened in 2018.
EAST LIBERTY YMCA
East Liberty Development, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
2012-2016
Clio Consulting prepared Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the federal and PA Historic Tax Credit applications critical to the financing of the rehabilitation of the 1910 former East Liberty YMCA. This five-story, Classical Revival building is located directly across South Whitfield Street from the East Liberty Presbyterian Church in the heart of the East Liberty Commercial Historic District. Despite being one of the architectural anchors of the community, the YMCA had been unsympathetically altered and stood vacant for over a decade. Now a hotel, the building draws visitors from around the city and the country to the heart of East Liberty.
8th AND PENN
TREK Development Group
2015-2018
Clio Consulting worked with TREK Development Group and the project architects, PWWG, to earn approval of federal and PA Historic Tax Credits for the rehabilitation of two historic commercial buildings and a contemporary but compatible addition on the adjacent vacant lot. Constructed in 1893 and 1896, respectively, the Bonn and McNally Buildings stand near the corner of 8th Street and Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District. They were added to the Penn-Liberty Historic District in 2011. The old and new buildings are joined on the interior to create an exciting new apartment complex, adding to the vibrancy of downtown.
HOMESTEAD MASONIC HALL
Q Development
2018-2020
Clio Consulting prepared Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the federal and PA Historic Tax Credit applications for a complex and innovative rehabilitation which preserves this former Masonic building’s character-defining features while adapting it fully for residential use. Architect Maximilian Nirdlinger designed the Homestead Masonic Hall in 1917, the beginning of the heyday of Masonic activity in the United States: the years between World War I and the Great Depression. Like many Masonic halls, the Homestead building had a mixed-use program, combining specialized spaces for Masonic lodge gatherings and ceremonies with rentable commercial and residential spaces to generate income.
ALLEGHENY YMCA
ACTION-Housing
2022-present
Located in the Mexican War Streets Historic District, the Allegheny YMCA has served the North Side community since its construction in 1926. The organization is working with Clio Consulting to meet its state and local responsibilities for environmental and historic review, as well as utilize the Historic Tax Credit to rehabilitate the building to improve its residential facilities while maintaining the athletic and recreational amenities is has historically offered. The project entails environmentally-conscious renovations to 95 SRO rooms, common spaces, and fitness and wellness areas, plus mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades and addition of an elevator, air conditioning, and sprinkler system.
COMMONWEALTH BUILDING
Pitt Commonwealth LLC
2018-2022
Clio Consulting prepared the Historic Tax Credit applications for the rehabilitation of this high-rise former office building, securing both federal and state historic tax credits for the project. The Commonwealth Building was constructed for the Commonwealth Trust Company to the Beaux Arts design of architect Frederick Osterling in 1906. A contributing resource in the Fourth Avenue Historic District, the Commonwealth Building is among a group of high-rise office buildings that rose in Pittsburgh’s financial district after the advent of the steel frame and the passenger elevator. After standing vacant for 20 years, it now houses commercial space in the historic first floor banking hall and apartment units in the floors above.
GARDEN THEATER
TREK Development Group and Q Development
2019-present
Clio Consulting is working with the owners and architects of this North Side landmark to prepare a successful Historic Tax Credit application for its rehabilitation for neighborhood businesses and apartments. Built in 1915, the Garden served as a neighborhood movie house during the heyday of moving pictures; its iconic neon blade sign was added in 1930. Its subsequent tenure as an adult cinema from 1973-2007 marred the prospects of West North Avenue, even as the Mexican War Streets Historic District flourished nearby. A subsequent owner removed the Garden’s auditorium, leading to a dilemma concerning its historic integrity. Rehabilitation of the Garden Theater is the keystone of the revitalization of an entire segment of West North Avenue.