Rehabilitating a religious property, like a church, using historic tax credits can be very challenging because it is often difficult to match the building’s desired new use with the historic floor plan and character-defining spaces. Design professionals and building owners have to negotiate a difficult balance between preserving a church’s large, open sanctuaries with the need for income-producing spaces like apartments or multi-tenant office spaces.

The rehabilitation of Wilkes-Barre’s Memorial Presbyterian Church is a good example of how to apply the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, which are the guiding principles for historic tax credit projects, to church buildings.

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