DCA outlines rural zone credits meant to revive small downtowns

At a committee briefing, Rusty Haywood of the Department of Community Affairs summarized the state's rural zone program, a designation created by 2017 legislation to support small downtown revitalization. Haywood said communities eligible for the program must have populations under 15,000, a concentration of buildings at least 50 years old, and a locally produced master plan and market analysis identifying distress factors such as blight or vacancy.

Haywood described the program's incentives: "These credits are $2,000 a job per year for up to 5 years," he said, and outlined two investor credits: an acquisition credit equal to 25% of purchase price capped at $125,000 (paid over five years) and a rehabilitation credit equal to 30% of rehab costs capped at $150,000 (paid over three years). He emphasized that the job-creation requirement means credits apply only to net new jobs created in the designated downtown area.

Haywood said 18 communities had been designated in the program's first two years and DCA will hold workshops and provide technical assistance to communities preparing applications. He told the committee DCA requires teams (Main Street directors, chambers, regional commissions, merchants and local officials) to produce plans and market analyses rather than place the burden on a single individual.

The presentation noted that designations run for five years and that funding or tax-credit claims depend on meeting the statutory job-creation and plan criteria. DCA plans outreach and training ahead of the next application cycle.