Today, March 4, 2025, the Connecticut General Assembly's Housing Committee will hold a public hearing on two bills designed to incentivize the development of housing on the sites of commercial and retail properties.
House Bill No. 7114 would create a new program that provides a credit against the corporation business tax of an owner that constructs residential dwelling units over retail property. Retail property is defined in the bill as "commercial real estate that is used to sell consumer goods or services." Depending on the amount spent to develop the residential dwelling units, the tax credit for a for-profit owner would be up to $30,000 per dwelling unit.
Similarly, Senate Bill No. 1263 would create a new program that provides a credit against the income tax of an owner that converts a commercial building into a residential development. Eligible commercial buildings would include hotels, retail space and office space but not industrial buildings. Depending on the amount spent on the conversion, the tax credit for a for-profit owner would also be up to $30,000 per dwelling unit.
Interested parties can submit written testimony to the Housing Committee via the General Assembly's website at www.cga.ct.gov.
These are just two of a number of bills before the General Assembly this session that are intended to help incentivize the redevelopment of existing commercial properties with new residential units in an effort to address the State's housing shortage. Another of those bills, House Bill No. 6424, already received a public hearing before the Planning and Development Committee on February 19. That concept bill would "(1) establish a property tax abatement for shopping malls that are converted to residential use, and (2) provide payment in lieu of taxes to reimburse municipalities for resulting lost property tax revenue."
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