Across our Commonwealth, many communities are burdened with vacant buildings, underutilized industrial sites, and other blighted commercial properties. To make redevelopment more financially feasible, we are introducing legislation to extend the maximum property tax abatement period under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program from 10 years to 20 years.

Under current law, counties, municipalities, and school districts may offer targeted property tax abatements for up to 10 years.  While this tool has spurred investment in many areas, larger and more complex redevelopment projects, such as converting deteriorated office buildings into housing, often require longer timelines to succeed.  Extending the cap to 20 years will give local governments the much-needed flexibility to structure abatement schedules that align with the scale and cost of these projects.

This expansion will help communities attract private investment, encourage infill development, and add housing stock to existing neighborhoods, which will help ease housing costs by increasing supply.  It will also contribute to property values and strengthen the local tax base while revitalizing our economically depressed areas.

We invite you to join in co-sponsoring this legislation to give our communities the tools they need to attract investment and drive revitalization.