The 85-year-old National Theater in Richmond will reopen as a concert hall next month after being closed for 25 years. But one of its owners says restoration of the theater would not have happened if the state didn’t offer historic rehabilitation tax credits. “Without tax credits, it still would be vacant and cold,” said A. William Reid of RIC Capital Ventures.
The building was still a bit chilly last night when the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and APVA Virginia Preservation held a reception celebrating the results of 10 years of tax credits. The event drew more than 400 people including Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, Speaker of the House William J. Howell and House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong.
Also on hand was Michael Pratt, director of the VCU Center for Public Policy, which conducted a study of the effects of state tax credits. He offered a few highlights from the survey.
• 93 percent of respondents said the state tax credits were essential to their decision to rehab historic property.
• 65.5 percent said they would not have undertaken their projects without the tax credits.
• Since the tax credits went into effect in 1997, they have resulted in an economic impact of $1.6 billion in the past 10 years, creating 10,769 jobs and generating $46 million in state tax revenue.
In the case of the National Theater, tax incentives encouraged Reid’s group to buy the building for $1.6 million in 2006 from the Historic Richmond Foundation and spend $15 million restoring it to its original appearance.
The theater opened in 1923 as a venue for vaudeville acts and later served as a music hall and movie theater. It closed in 1983 and was scheduled to be demolished when the Historic Richmond Foundation bought it in 1984.
“Orson Wells appeared on this stage,” Reid said. “In a few months, Willie Nelson will do the same.”

The 85-year-old National Theater in Richmond will reopen as a concert hall next month after being closed for 25 years. But one of its owners says restoration of the theater would not have happened if the state didn’t offer historic rehabilitation tax credits. “Without tax credits, it still would be vacant and cold,” said A. William Reid of RIC Capital Ventures.
The building was still a bit chilly last night when the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and APVA Virginia Preservation held a reception celebrating the results of 10 years of tax credits. The event drew more than 400 people including Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, Speaker of the House William J. Howell and House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong.
Also on hand was Michael Pratt, director of the VCU Center for Public Policy, which conducted a study of the effects of state tax credits. He offered a few highlights from the survey.
• 93 percent of respondents said the state tax credits were essential to their decision to rehab historic property.
• 65.5 percent said they would not have undertaken their projects without the tax credits.
• Since the tax credits went into effect in 1997, they have resulted in an economic impact of $1.6 billion in the past 10 years, creating 10,769 jobs and generating $46 million in state tax revenue.
In the case of the National Theater, tax incentives encouraged Reid’s group to buy the building for $1.6 million in 2006 from the Historic Richmond Foundation and spend $15 million restoring it to its original appearance.
The theater opened in 1923 as a venue for vaudeville acts and later served as a music hall and movie theater. It closed in 1983 and was scheduled to be demolished when the Historic Richmond Foundation bought it in 1984.
“Orson Wells appeared on this stage,” Reid said. “In a few months, Willie Nelson will do the same.”

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax, has shown just how passionate the debate over illegal immigration has become — and how far proposals can go.

Cuccinelli has proposed changing the U.S. Constitution’s 14th amendment to allow U.S.-born children to become citizens only if at least one of their parents is a citizen. Currently any U.S. -born child automatically becomes a citizen regardless of his or her parents’ immigration status.

The Potomac News reported that Cuccinelli will file a Senate Joint Resolution that petitions U.S. Congress to change the 14th Amendment.

You can see the resolution here.

Cuccinelli outlined his proposal during a press conference Monday with Save the Old Dominion, a group that includes many anti-illegal immigration groups around Virginia.

Charlottesville is going green. During a tide of concern about climate change and energy preservation, Charlottesville is becoming one of the latest cities to pass environmentally friendly standards.

The (Charlottesville) Daily Progress reported the city is constructing a vegetative roof on city hall and the police department headquarters. The lifespan of the buildings’ roofs was ending, and city officials took the opportunity to build an environmentally friendly roof. Green roofs are designed to reduce energy costs and reduce stormwater runoff.

The city has also offered a lower tax assessment rate for energy-efficient homes and agreed to offer energy-saving light bulbs to residents.

Charlottesville certainly isn’t the only community responding to concern about the environment. Albemarle County, for example, installed a green roof on its government headquarters. Arlington County requires all developers to construct buildings according to sustainable standards from the U.S. Green Building Council or contribute to the county’s Green Building Fund.

All across Virginia, localities, businesses and educational institutions are responding to the call for environmental stewardship. Virginia Business will look significantly at this trend in its April issue.

Be prepared to see just how green Virginia can be.

The Washington Post wrote an interesting story today on a bill proposed by state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax.

The bill, SB 339, says that if an employee doesn’t speak English in accordance with an established workplace policy, it can be labeled misconduct. Under rules of the Virginia Employment Commission, an employee who is fired for misconduct is ineligible for unemployment compensation benefits.

Cuccinelli told the Post the bill evolved from a conversation with an employer whose unemployment taxes went up after he fired an employee who didn’t learn English. Cuccinelli said the bill would give employers a recourse against employees who promise to learn English but don’t.

Currently, more than 100 people have commented on the bill on the Post’s Web site.