Securing tax credits to support the upgrade of income-producing properties: that is the goal of a Town Center Committee plan to get the area designated as a national historic district.

The plan, as presented by Town Planner Meg Parulis, won Board of Selectmen (BOS) support last week. The BOS agreed to approve $10,000 to pay a consultant to prepare a national historic district application for the Westbrook Town Center area.

“Because of the potential benefits associated with National Historic Designation, it is requested that the town fund the full cost of the nomination. Aside from promoting preservation of historic buildings that enhance community character, benefits include technical assistance from department staff for maintenance and rehabilitation projects and eligibility for state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits for income-producing properties within the district,” said Parulis.

Parulis said that the national designation is significant for what it doesn’t do as much as for what what it offers. Municipal and not-for-profit owners of listed historic properties or properties in a designated national historic district become eligible for matching historic preservation grants. Unlike locally established historic districts, however, a national historic district designation does not restrict an owner’s use, development, or sale of a property within it. Instead, the historic designation provides federal tax incentives that encourage owners to maintain and upgrade their historic structures.

As a National Register fact sheet states, owners of depreciable, certified historic properties within a designated district can take a 20 percent income tax credit for the costs of substantial rehabilitation.

For historic buildings like the John P. Riggio Building, the designation would allow consideration of fire and life safety code compliance alternatives when rehabilitating historic buildings.

The BOS-approved funding request this week goes to the Board of Finance for its review and consideration.