Among our many specialties is helping clients take advantage of incentives for preservation. We are currently completing the tax credit application for the rehabilitation of 503 Fifth St., located downtown in the Macon Railroad Industrial Historic District. The building has been used previously as a warehouse, craft factory, radio station, and as an all-ages meeting space. Now, owner Bryan Nichols is using federal and state rehabilitation tax credits to convert the third story into several large apartments,providing more housing for downtown residents. State and federal tax credit programs will refund 45% of Mr. Nichols’ expenses. In addition, his property taxes will be frozen for eight and a half years, saving nearly $180,000. Mr. Nichols is taking great care to preserve this historic building. Tax Credits are awarded to preservation projects by following the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation. We like to tell people that the basic principles are even simpler: 1) Do no more than necessary to ensure the future of the building, and 2) ensure that any changes that you do make could be reversed without damaging the building. Some of Mr. Nichols' preservation-minded choices include:

• Installing an industrial-style extrerior deck and railing so that all floors of the building are visible from the street and the indutrial character of the building is preserved
• Preserving the all-wood, double hung sash, divided light windows by having them carefully restored and left in place
• Restoring full-length and -width corridors on the top floor to emphasize the volume of the building and reference its warehouse history
• Limiting the number of dividing walls that reach the full height of the ceiling to preserve the volume of the warehouse

View photographs of the existing conditions of this building on our Flickr page and we'll add the "after" photographs as soon as the project is complete.