Epsilon Leverages Historic Tax Credits to help restore Boston’s historic buildings, fostering a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive urban environment.
Boston’s Office-to-Residential Conversion Program has quickly become a model for the preservation and revitalization of the city’s historic neighborhoods. Designed to address the city’s growing housing needs and abundance of office space, the program allows property owners to convert vacant office buildings into residential units, while receiving a property tax abatement for up to 29 years. This unique program not only encourages the creation of much-needed downtown housing, but also supports sustainability through the adaptive reuse of existing buildings.
The first completed project under this program at 281 Franklin Street (a Preservation Massachusetts award winning project) rehabbed and preserved a formerly vacant historic office building, improved the surrounding neighborhood by adding foot traffic supporting local businesses, and enlivened the streetscape. Epsilon’s Historic Preservation group played a critical role by securing both state and federal historic tax credits that helped finance the project.
Epsilon is committed to supporting developers using Boston’s Office-to-Residential Conversion Program, overseeing multiple projects throughout the city. Of the over two dozen applicants to the program, the vast majority are Epsilon clients receiving the benefits of both the local property tax abatement and state and federal historic tax credits to help make these projects a reality, including locations on:
- Devonshire Street
- Washington Street
- Court Square
- Portland Street
- Summer Street
- Congress Street
- Post Office/Liberty Square
- Canal Street
- Franklin Street
- Devonshire/Washington Street
- Berkeley St
- Washington
In addition, Epsilon’s Planning group provided Article 80 consulting services for several of the projects listed above.
About the Expert
Douglas Kelleher, Principal and Manager, Historic Preservation Group is a leader in the field of historic preservation planning with over 30 years of experience in the public and private sectors. He served as Principal for this project. Mr. Kelleher’s prior experience includes numerous years as a Preservation Planner with the Massachusetts Historical Commission. He specializes in providing public and private sector clients with strategic consulting for complex real estate projects involving historic resources for compliance with local, state, and federal historic preservation regulations. Widely recognized as a leader in the preservation community, his well-established expertise is a cornerstone of Epsilon’s historic resources and historic tax credit practice.
Brian Lever is a Principal at Epsilon and has over 20 years of experience in architectural history and preservation planning. He has experience in implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and related local, state, and federal environmental laws, regulations, and guidelines affecting historic resources. Additionally, Mr. Lever has expertise in state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits and formerly was the Senior Preservation Planner for the City of Newton.