For the last 18 months, The Sherbert Group has had our eye on the upcoming 1/1/23 expiration of North Carolina mill eligibility certificates that were applied for before the program ended in 2015. This date has given some pause to developers considering rehabilitation of historic NC mills, particularly larger ones that may need to be phased over a period of years. Discussions with NCDOR, state legislators and other stakeholders have, unfortunately, not provided much clarification in regards to transition rules for these projects.
Since early this year, there has been pending legislation to extend the expiration of existing NC mill eligibility certificates. Then earlier this summer, the NC Senate budget bill S105 added a provision that would actually re-enact the mill credits statute and make it permanent. (The bill would also expand and make permanent the NC historic credit.) Now in it’s 6th edition, the Senate budget bill is still being negotiated – and we are anxious to see what the outcome will be, as this would obviously be a boost to the potential for rehabilitating vacant mills in North Carolina.
If you are looking at a mill project in NC, or have questions on this statute, please contact The Sherbert Group.