Owning a historic home means you have all the charm and beautiful craftsmanship from a past era. But you might also find that keeping up with the maintenance of an old home is a costly endeavor. There is once again an opportunity for owners of historic properties in the city of Long Beach to free up some money for their home improvement projects with the Mills Act program.
What is the Mills Act?
The Mills Act is a tax abatement program for historic properties enacted by the state of California in 1972. Adopted by the city of Long Beach in 1993, over 100 contracts have been awarded locally to date!
Contracts provide up to a 50% reduction in property taxes for a period of 10 years with the money saved intended for restoration, repairs and replacement of historic exterior features and fixtures!
Does Your Property Qualify?
Contributing properties within designated historic districts as well as designated historic landmark properties are eligible to apply for the Mills Act program.
Historia Design & Consulting assisted the Walker Building in obtaining their Mills Act contract in 2020 by authoring the required work plan for repairs and restoration to the wooden windows, original neon building signage, decorative plaster and other historic architectural features.
Getting Started
Whether you have a historic multi-use property like the Walker Building, a beautiful Spanish revival, an elegant Victorian, a cozy Craftsman bungalow, a Multi-family stylized ranch house, a Mid-century modern gem, or one of the many other historic style homes in Long Beach, a Mills Act contract may be exactly what you need to fund your restoration projects for your historic home.
