Privately Owned Commercial and Business Buildings

Technical Resources

Most Relevant National Park Service Preservation Briefs (available at no charge at http://www2.cr.nps.gov/tps/tax/rhb/stand.htm)

• #1: The Cleaning and Waterproof Coating of Masonry Buildings
• #2: Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings
• #3: Conserving Energy in Historic Buildings
• #4: Roofing for Historic Buildings
• #6: Dangers of Abrasive Cleaning to Historic Buildings
• #7: The Preservation of Historic Glazed Terra Cotta
• #8: Aluminum and Vinyl Siding on Historic Buildings
• #9: The Repair of Historic Wooden Windows
• #10: Exterior Paint Problems on Historic Woodwork
• #11: Rehabilitating Historic Storefronts
• #12: The Preservation of Historic Pigmented Structural Glass (Vitrolite and Carrara Glass)
• #13: The Repair and Thermal Upgrading of Historic Steel Windows
• #14: New Exterior Additions to Historic Buildings
• #15: Preservation of Historic Concrete: Problems and General Approaches
• #16: The Use of Substitute Materials on Historic Building Exteriors
• #17: Architectural Character: Identifying the Visual Aspects of Historic Buildings as an Aid to Preserving Their Character
• #18: Rehabilitating Interiors in Historic Buildings
• #21: Repairing Historic Flat Plaster-- Walls and Ceiling
• #22: Preservation and Repair of Historic Stucco
• #23: Preserving Historic Ornamental Plaster
• #24: Heating, Ventilating, and Cooling Historic Buildings
• #25: The Preservation of Historic Signs
• #27: The Maintenance and Repair of Architectural Cast Iron
• #28: Painting Historic Interiors
• #31: Mothballing Historic Buildings
• #33: The Preservation and Repair of Historic Stained and Leaded Glass
• #35: Understanding Old Buildings: The Process of Architectural Investigation
• #38: Removing Graffiti from Historic Masonry
• #39: Holding the Line: Controlling Unwanted Moisture in Historic Buildings
• #40: Preserving Historic Ceramic Tile Floors

Other information and services on a wide variety of preservation topics are available on the internet through the National Park Service’s Heritage Preservation Services at http://www2.cr.nps.gov/welcome.htm or by email at nps_hps-info@nps.gov.

Financial Resources

Funding sources available for privately-owned for-profit buildings include:

• NTHP Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation (National Historic Landmarks only)
• NTHP Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors (National Historic Landmarks only)
• Office of the Treasurer Experience Illinois! Program
• Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Tourism Attraction Development Grant Program (TAP)
• National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Cultural and Heritage Grants
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in conjunction with the National Park Service (NPS) and IHPA Tax Credits for income producing buildings- 10% for buildings in service before 1936 and 20% for certified historic buildings
• IRS 50% Disabled Access Tax Credit for small businesses

Cook County residents have an additional option:

• The Class L Property Tax Incentive, which lowers the property tax assessment rate for 12 years, is available for landmarks designated by Certified Local Governments in Cook County.

Businesses within a tax incremental financing (TIF) district can obtain funds for improvement projects through their local municipalities. To find out if your current or potential business is in a TIF municipality, visit http://www.illinois-tif.com/IllinoisTIFs.htm or contact your municipal government.

Other Resources

The University of Illinois at Springfield maintains the Nonprofit Resource Center, a database and librarians who can assist in finding grant money. They are accessible on the web at http://www.uis.edu/library/fdc.htm.

Some organizations and foundations offer financial assistance sporadically, as funds are available. It can be worthwhile to check the availability of relevant funds at a variety of corporations, organizations, and foundations.