The Hill Building in Durham, North Carolina has a familiar history.
A 1937 Art Deco building in the heart of downtown, its fortunes rose and fell with the surrounding neighborhood. As business, residents, and investment fled the city’s core during the urban renewal period of the late 20th century, its occupancy diminished until it was sold in 2007 and left to languish through the Recession.
But after sitting largely vacant for about eight years, the Hill Building has now been swept up in a new nationwide trend: downtown revitalization with the help of historic tax credits.
A $48 million rehabilitation of the iconic bank building resulted in the March 2015 opening of the 21c Durham Museum Hotel, a 125-room hotel, museum, and meeting space.
With a bank loan of only $22 million, the developers relied heavily on state and federal credits, which contributed $3.5 and $7.9 million, respectively.
Photo credit: 21c Museum Hotels.
See full article by Jared Foretek on NTHP website.