Abravanel Hall is now a nationally-recognized historic place. What does that mean for its future?

SALT LAKE CITY — Abravanel Hall is now a nationally recognized historic place, which doesn't outright protect the building Salt Lake County already plans to preserve, but it could introduce options to help the county reduce the cost of renovations if it finds the right partner.

Symphony Hall, as it was originally known when it opened in 1979, was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places this month, according to the National Park Service, which manages the register.

"This national designation helps show that Abravanel Hall is an important and historical part of our county's cultural landscape," Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said in a statement. "We are honored to continue our nearly 50-year stewardship of this historical venue for Salt Lake County residents."

The designation marked the end of a fairly quick journey to get Abravanel Hall on the national register after its future suddenly came into question this year.

Over 50,000 people signed an online petition asking for the venue to be saved after Smith Entertainment Group's plan for a revamped Delta Center emerged in May. Its plan includes a desire to lease two blocks east of the arena as part of a "sports, entertainment, culture and convention district" downtown.

Salt Lake County officials ultimately vowed to preserve Abravanel Hall through a resolution last month. However, as that unfolded, Utah Symphony musicians hired Adrienne White, founder of the historic home research service House Genealogy, to help them get the building on the national register.

Her report leaned heavily on the building's revered acoustics, which was designed through the help of Cyril Harris, a legendary figure in the field of acoustics architecture. While most historic buildings or places must be at least 50 years old to land on the register, Abravanel Hall qualified under special criteria allowing younger buildings that have "exceptional importance."

Amber Anderson, technical preservation manager with the Utah State Historic Preservation Office, told KSL.com on Monday it's a "pretty unique listing" because few buildings enter the register through the criteria as the 45-year-old concert hall.

Unlocking incentives

However, the listing means very little in terms of preservation, largely because the register holds no jurisdiction to prevent the building from being demolished or drastically altered. That power lands solely at local levels.

The listing instead opens the door for incentives that could lower the steep cost of renovating the building, which is estimated to be in the ballpark of $200 million.

As noted by the National Park Service, preservation projects that create "income-producing" businesses can receive federal tax credits covering up to 20% of the project's cost. There are still some other requirements to get the full 20%, including preservation standards to make sure the building's history remains intact.

In this case, up to about $40 million could be saved on preservation efforts, depending on which types of upgrades qualify for the credit. Not all upgrades qualify for incentives, but Anderson believes a large portion likely would, given what's known about the proposed preservation.

Finding a partner?

Salt Lake County doesn't qualify for this incentive, however, because it has no tax liability, so the county will likely have to get creative to extract any incentives to lower the project cost.

There is a way it can happen, though. Anderson points to a process called "syndication."

Syndication is when a tax-exempt entity — such as Salt Lake County — partners with an organization or business with a tax liability that essentially becomes the building's long-term co-owner. The two sides form a partnership where the primary owner could receive capital funding from the tax-eligible partner in exchange for the tax credits recouping the cost.

It's not uncommon to see nonprofit organizations utilize this method when dealing with historic buildings.

"If a (partner has a tax liability), they would meet that requirement and enter into an ownership situation, make use of that credit and then give the county funding in exchange for any work that needs to be done to the building," Anderson said.

Theoretically speaking, Smith Entertainment Group could be that type of partner. Company executives say they expect to spend at least $3 billion in capital in the zone on top of its county lease request.

KSL.com reached out to Salt Lake County to see if this is something that has been discussed now that Abravanel Hall is on the national register, but Liz Sollis, spokeswoman for Wilson's office, said she's unaware of any plans like that.

She said the county is still actively working out project details with Smith Entertainment Group, Salt Lake City and state leaders over the entire district, including renovations to Abravanel Hall.

"At this point in time, we're keeping it within government and I haven't heard any conversations about having (Smith) do that," she said Monday.

What happens next?

That said, funding for everything is a part of the ongoing discussions — and the county is already exploring unique ways to cut costs.

The County Council earlier this month supported Wilson's request to hold a little over $10 million in a transportation fund that could go toward repaying future debt tied to a complete overhaul of the Salt Palace Convention Center, which is now estimated to cost about $1.1 billion.

With that tacked onto the Abravanel Hall preservation costs, Wilson has said the county would need help from the Utah Legislature and creative sources to fund everything. It's unclear whether syndication will be one of those avenues, but Sollis said most of the project funding remains up in the air.

"We know that we have to have several ideas for funding," she said. "I think the main thing is that we are committed to having that arts and culture space that Abravanel Hall provides."

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