06/01/2004
Nancy Flint-Budde, an entrepreneur in Salem, N.Y., acquired a rundown, historic piece of property in the town’s center, and by articulating an appropriate vision to civic leaders, she won the right to rezone and renovate the property.
“We purchased a multifamily residence that was a significant
negative for the village,” she says. “It was not a nice piece of property, given
the people who lived there, but it was in the heart of the historic
district.”She converted the property to office space, and it is now fully rented to seven professionals (including herself and her husband), generating higher and more desirable foot traffic downtown. Not only did its position in the historic district give the town an incentive to allow rezoning and improvements to the property, the historic designation meant that Flint-Budde could take advantage of a 10 percent federal tax credit for the improvements.
Her advice: Community relations are key, especially with a big renovation that creates noise and dust in a congested area, such as a downtown. “Use local people, and deal with a local bank if the project is at all unusual; appraisers have to be on site from time to time, and you need someone who understands what you’re trying to do.”
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