Ansin didn’t give up on the project, but to keep it alive he switched from condos to rental apartments, and, most importantly, succeeded in getting the 105-year-old mill building put on the National Register of Historic Places. The move allowed him to apply for federal and state tax credits that, combined, can cover up to 40 percent of the costs of rehabilitating historic buildings. Now the 204 loft units at Monarch on the Merrimack, as the project is known, could be ready by next month, Rosen said.
These tax credits, which can be sold to institutions with large tax liabilities, such as banks, have made mill cities like Lawrence, Lowell, and Haverhill very attractive to developers capitalizing on the back-to-the-city and loft-living trends.
“It’s expensive to redevelop a mill,’’ Rosen said. “Between the National Park Service federal tax credit and the state program you can really make a dent in those costs. . . . It’s a very, very good feeling seeing it built after all the troubles and travails.’’
Mill and factory buildings that supported gateway cities like Lawrence, Lowell, and Haverhill during the industrial era are once again the key to their economic future, according to leaders in those communities.
More than 1 million square feet of former textile mill space has been or is in the process of being redeveloped in Lawrence within the last eight years, said Patrick J. Blanchette, the city’s chief economic development director. Combined, the recent mill developments are estimated to bring in more than $800,000 in additional annual tax revenue to the city, he said.
“These mills were always the engine of our economy,’’ Blanchette said. “In Lawrence, they definitely have gone through the oil change because the engines are back and full of life.’’
