The City of Middletown under Connecticut General Statues 12-127a, as amended, adopted a Historical Structure Rehabilitation Tax Abatement program under section 272-17 of Chapter 272, Article 1 of the Middletown Code of Ordinances. The goal of this program is to facilitate the preservation of historically and culturally significant buildings within the City's boundaries and to help rehabilitation and reuse of these structures. To see full text of the ordinance, please click here.

How will it be applied?  What are the criteria?

Any Project for which an abatement of real property taxes on a Historic Property is sought pursuant to this section must meet the following requirements:

(1) The property must be a Historic Property.

(2) The Owner must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the City, in its sole and absolute discretion, that the taxes imposed on such Historic Property are a material factor threatening the continued existence of the Historic Property, necessitating either its demolition or remodeling in a manner which destroys its historical or architectural value if an abatement is not given.    

(3) A minimum of $15,000 in qualified rehabilitation expenditures must be incurred to qualify. Qualified rehabilitation expenditures are hard costs associated with the structural rehabilitation of the Historic Property itself; site improvements and non-construction costs are excluded.

(4) The majority of the structural rehabilitation project must include work that preserves the historic building fabric and/or character-defining features of the Historic Property.

(5) Property owner shall demonstrate compliance with the United States Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation when developing a rehabilitation plan for a Historic Property.

(6) The Owner, or any members, associates, or individuals that are a member or officer of the entity with which the Owner is associated, and any other entity with which the Owner may be associated shall not be delinquent in the payment of any taxes, charges, or assessments to the City of Middletown.

What type of abatement could an applicant receive?

Real Estate taxes on a Historic Property may be abated, in whole or in part, for a period of up to ten (10) years.  Any tax abatement agreement entered into pursuant to this section will run with the land on the Historic Property, and can be assigned, with the written consent of the City of Middletown, to a subsequent Owner of the same Historic Property.   

How does an applicant get an abatement?

Approval Process

(a) To apply for an abatement of taxes in accordance with this section, the Owner shall submit an application, on a form prescribed by the City of Middletown, to the Mayor's Office and the Development Office concurrently. (APPLICATION FORM)

(b) Once the application has been deemed satisfactorily completed by the Development Office and the Mayor's Office, such application shall then be referred to the Design Review Preservation Board (DRPB) for its review of the proposed rehabilitation of the Historic Property.  Upon favorable review by the DRPB, the application shall then be forwarded to the Economic Development Committee. 

(c) The Economic Development Committee shall review the application to determine whether such application conforms to and complies with the provisions of this section and all other applicable statutes and regulations. Each application shall be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. If the application receives a favorable recommendation from the Economic Development Committee, the Economic Development Committee shall report its favorable recommendation to the Common Council, who shall then act upon the application.

(d) All applications for the abatement of taxes pursuant to this section that receive a favorable recommendation from the Economic Development Committee shall go to the Common Council for its review. The Common Council shall only act upon the application by ordinance; said ordinance shall include the fixed period of time, and percentage of abatement of taxes for each year. If the Common Council approves the application, the Mayor shall execute a tax abatement agreement with the Owner, pursuant to the details as outlined in the ordinance approved by the Common Council.

What else may be required?

All agreements for the abatement of taxes entered into pursuant to this section shall contain the following provisions:

(a)  If the structure on the Historic Property is demolished or remodeled in a way which destroys its architectural or historical value, as determined by the City in its sole and absolute discretion, the City may terminate the tax abatement agreement immediately, and all taxes that would have been owed to the City during the pendency of the tax abatement agreement, including accrued interest, otherwise due to the City of Middletown, shall become immediately due and payable.

(b) In the event the Owner, or any members, associates, or individuals that are a member or officer of the entity with which the Owner is associated, and any other entity with which the Owner may be associated is delinquent in any and all taxes, charges, or assessments due to the City of Middletown at any point during the duration of the tax abatement agreement, the City may terminate the tax abatement agreement immediately, and all taxes that would have been owed to the City during the pendency of the tax abatement agreement, including accrued interest otherwise due to the City of Middletown, shall become immediately due and payable.

(c) If the tax abatement is assigned in accordance with this ordinance and by consent of the City of Middletown, failure or inability of a new owner to comply with any of the conditions of this section, shall result in immediate termination of the tax abatement agreement and all taxes that would have been owed to the City during the pendency of the tax abatement agreement, including accrued interest, otherwise due to the City of Middletown, shall become immediately due and payable.

(d) In the event that construction is not commenced or completed, as the case may be, within the time period prescribed in the agreement, including any extensions provided for in the agreement, then any agreement entered into pursuant to this section may be immediately terminated and all taxes that would have been owed to the City during the pendency of the tax abatement agreement, including accrued interest, otherwise due to the City of Middletown, shall become immediately due and payable.

APPLICATION FORM