BY STEFANIE JACKSON BOWMANN, Eastern Shore Post —
Northampton’s commercial and industrial property owners now can get up to twice as much time to complete the rehabilitation of older structures for tax incentives.
“When you do demolition work on a historic property or an older property, you don’t know what you’re going to find. … The process becomes, sometimes, unforeseen,” said Todd Bricken, of Frederick, Md., at the Northampton supervisors meeting in August.
A county ordinance has been in effect since 2001 to provide incentives to property owners for renovating commercial and industrial buildings that are 20 years old or more, or 15 years old or more if the buildings are in an enterprise zone.
For a 10-year period, successful program applicants will not pay the additional real estate taxes that they otherwise would be charged for increases in property values resulting from renovations.
However, the applicant must pay a $250 fee and complete the renovations within two years — a deadline that can be difficult to meet, especially when dealing with the structural surprises often hidden behind the walls and beneath the floors of historic buildings.
Bricken is renovating the former Watson’s Hardware on Mason Avenue in Cape Charles.
The building was a 1920s-era movie theater before it was converted to a hardware store.
Before renovation of the historic building began, Bricken was required to submit his application to the incentive program, including the assessed value of the property at the time of application.
He started demolition in 2021 and hired an architect, engineer, and project designer.
“That process took almost nine months until I actually had a permit to start to build. … That left me with about 15 months. … I knew there was no way I would make that 24 months,” Bricken said.
There were complications. As demolition of the former movie theater progressed, workers found three feet of sand, an additional layer of concrete, and a failing foundation and footers, Bricken said.
That led to more architectural and design work and additional permitting — and more time spent on the project.
Bricken said he first asked county officials for an extension approximately 18 months ago.
“I’m not a professional builder. I’m just a person that wants to retire here and needed some sort of project for me to stay busy,” he said. “I really (didn’t) know from the start what to expect. … I’m learning as I go.”
The amended ordinance allows an applicant up to two one-year extensions, or a total of four years to complete a renovation project.
Northampton supervisors approved the amendment in a unanimous vote.
