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V O L . X X V N O. V I I I A P R I L 1 5 , 2 0 1 9 18 D evelopers are tapping into increasingly creative ways to finance projects in Maine. Tax incentives, tax credits and Opportunity Zones are just a few of the many financing tools designed to attract capital and achieve a public purpose by arranging partnerships and getting players — developers, inves- tors, financers, municipalities — to talk about deals they wouldn't have oth- erwise considered. e programs are designed to encourage private invest- ment in low-income areas through tax advantages. Incentives have helped an array of well-known projects get from the drawing board to completion. A vacant commercial site in Livermore Falls was redeveloped with help from New Market Tax Credits. Tax Increment Financing is used in municipalities statewide to provide incentives to busi- ness owners. And federal Opportunity Zone tax incentives are creating inter- est in Maine's 32 designated areas. "ere's laundry list of programs out there," says John Egan, chief investment officer with Coastal Enterprises Inc. in Brunswick. "e motive is to essentially drive private market investment into projects or areas or both, where they might not otherwise look to invest." How it works Let's say a developer plans to purchase a historic building for $1 million and to invest an additional $2 million to rede- velop it for mixed use. It's a registered historic building and the planned improvements are so-called "qualified historic costs" as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. So the project qualifies for a federal historic tax credit of 20% of the $2 million, or $400,000; and a state historic tax credit of 25% on the $2 million, or $500,000. at's a total offset of approximately $900,000 (minus transaction costs) P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY F O C U S • Boundary Line Disputes • Development Projects • Timberlands Transactions • Condominiums • Commercial Development • Lease & Contract Review 207.947.4501 • www.rudmanwinchell.com Real Estate Law C O U N S E L O R S A T L A W Protect Your Real Estate Construction Projects A true strategic partner for your investment Kevin Mattson, CEO of Dirigo Capital Advisors, is redeveloping an old Odd Fellows Hall in Augusta, a project that depends on incentives to be financially viable. INCENTIVES INVENTIVE B y L a u r i e S c h r e i B e r To make projects work, developers tap a range of tax incentives

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