Douglas named Rural Zone
The City of Douglas has been designated as a Rural Zone by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. The Rural Zone designation is an incentive program designed to stimulate investment, job creation, and economic development in the historic downtown area. General criteria for designation include communities with a population of less than 15,000; a core downtown area with structures older than 50 years; evidence of blight or disinvestment in the downtown area; implementation of a strategic plan in the downtown area; and a completed market analysis, which indicates gaps within the local business makeup.
“We are very excited to have earned this designation,” says Tony Paulk, Douglas Mayor. “With this designation, we encourage our downtown business owners to take advantage of the program’s tax incentives to create growth in our downtown development area.”
Douglas’s Rural Zone designation will last five years, and activities to begin earning tax credits on January 1, 2020. The following is a summary of the programs three tax incentives:
- • Job Tax Credit, which offers $2,000 per new full-time equivalent job created
• Investment Credit, which is equivalent to 25 percent of the purchase price of the building
• Rehabilitation Credit, which is equivalent to 30 percent of qualified rehabilitation costs.
Each of the three tax credits is dependent upon the creation of at least two new full-time equivalent jobs.
Anyone interested in applying for the Rural Zone tax credits, after January 1, 2020, please contact Georgia Henderson, Community Development Director, 912-383-0277 or email ghenderson@cityofdouglas.com.