WINNSBORO – Winnsboro Town Manager Jason Taylor announced during Tuesday night’s town council meeting that the Town received a second $500,000 state budget allotment earlier that day that was awarded last summer through a Parks, Recreation, and Tourism grant.
It is the second $500,000 state budget allotment Rep. Annie McDaniel has obtained for the Town in the last 18 months.
“The first $500,000 was a great start,” Taylor said. “But a million dollars will have a real impact that people will start to notice.”
He said about half the buildings in downtown are vacant or actually dilapidated and in need of restoration.
In thanking McDaniel last year for her work in successfully moving the town’s funding request through the legislature, Winnsboro Mayor John McMeekin said those funds would be used to jump start the town’s long-term goal of bringing a vibrant downtown back to Winnsboro.
Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to pay $4,500 of that $1 million to developer 1st and Main to prepare an attractive financial package for developers interested in using tax credits to restore derelict buildings in downtown Winnsboro.
“The first building we’re looking to restore is Thespian Hall, and we hope a couple more will soon be ready for restoration,” Taylor said. “But this financial package can be used by developers for any of these buildings. It will be their guide for obtaining tax credits and other incentives on projects like we have here.
“A lot of developers come in and don’t realize what beneficial tax credits and other incentives are available to them – historic tax credits, abandoned building tax credits, and others,” Taylor said. “There’s the Bailey bill which alleviates property taxes for these kinds of projects.
“Rory Dowling, CEO of 1st and Main, has a lot of expertise in the use of tax credits on restorations such as what we’re trying to do here,” Taylor said. “And for that $4,500, he will also be recruiting developers who are capable of doing this kind of work.
“A financial package like this with tax abatements or credits will help potential developers understand why it is beneficial for them to invest in Winnsboro,” Taylor said.
“We can save some of these old buildings and get them to where they’re move-in ready for someone who wants to bring in a nice restaurant or retail shop but isn’t necessarily great at rehabbing a hundred-year-old building,” Taylor said. “They may not have the time or the resources to do that.”
“We want Winnsboro to return to being a vibrant community where people can walk from their house to a wonderful shop or restaurant on Main Street; and where quality of life is improved for our citizens. We want a downtown that is thriving and alive, and where people want to visit and want to live,” Taylor said.
