PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Division of Taxation has approved Mosaico Business & Community Development Corp.’s restoration of the Bristol Industrial Park as the latest project to receive historic preservation tax credits.
The property, purchased by Mosaico in 2010 for $1.55 million, comprises a rambling complex of mill buildings along Wood Avenue in Bristol that date back to its days as a National Rubber Co. plant in the mid-nineteenth century and have since fallen into varying states of disrepair.
In its entirety, the complex includes 41 buildings, of which 18 buildings on the northern side of the complex have been previously restored for elderly housing and one is separately owned. The 22 remaining buildings make up the portion of the complex that will undergo renovations under the historic tax credit program.
Renovations planned for the complex include restoring exterior brick masonry, repairing roofs, restoring siding and trim, replacing windows to match the originals, repainting interior and exterior walls, repairing or constructing staircases, bringing the buildings up to fire code, and making structural repairs.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $1.6 million, and the Division of Taxation has awarded Mosaico $400,000 in historic preservation tax credits, worth 25 percent of the credit-eligible project cost.
The Bristol Industrial Park restoration is somewhat unusual among the projects approved under the tax credit program so far in that the complex is partly occupied by tenants. Diana Campbell, executive director of Mosaico, told EastBayRI.com last year that the complex is currently at about 70 percent capacity, with 25 tenants.
To date, the Division of Taxation has awarded historic tax credits to 23 restoration projects, including most recently the conversion of the American Tourister Mill in Warren into a mixed-use complex with 200 apartments, which received $5 million in tax credits.
To view the complete list of projects that have been approved under the state’s historic preservation tax credit program, visit www.tax.ri.gov.