By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — The General Assembly’s recent cutback of the historic tax credit program has caused one potential developer to back out of a downtown rehabilitation project and is apparently causing a second developer to think twice.

Lawrence Platt of the Platt Realty Group had been in negotiations with the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency over the former Old Colony Bank building at 347 Main St. for the past year and a half.
His proposal was to turn the long vacant building into offices and retail stores.
However, according to PRA officials, Platt had made it clear that he needed the help of the state’s tax credit program — which offers developers breaks on their income taxes equal to 30 percent of the renovation costs — to pay for the project. He had indicated that he did not intend to go through with a purchase and sales agreement for the building without some kind of assurance of tax help.
In late March, Platt and the other developer, Everett Amaral of Amaral Revite, had also approached city officials about tax breaks through a tax treaty if, in fact, the state’s historic tax credit program fell through.
Amaral is working with the City Council and the city’s property committee to acquire the former Pawtucket School Administration building at 81 Park Place for use as offices.
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency, PRA officials acknowledged that the deal with Platt Realty was effectively over. PRA Executive Director Michael Cassidy announced that the next step would be to do some general clean-up of the site and to put it back on the market.
The PRA has been trying to find a developer for the long-vacant property since acquiring it from businessman Louis Yip about four years ago. Three years ago, noted local chef Walter Potenza had proposed turning the building into a restaurant and culinary school, but the project was later dropped.
Despite over a decade of neglect and issues such as a leaky roof and broken windows, PRA offcials say they remain optimistic about the future of the building.
Cassidy and Heath said that there is a draft purchase and sales agreement between the city and Amaral Revite, but said they do not know the current status of the deal as that negotiation is taking place with the City Council. Cassidy noted, however, that the former school administration building is in far better shape than the Old Colony Bank building due to its being occupied longer and having been maintained by the school department.
Cassidy said that, according to the latest information from the General Assembly, there will be no state historic tax credit for projects that had not been qualified by Dec. 31, 2007. He noted, however, that federal historic tax credits offering tax breaks of 20 percent are still available.
He said, however, that to qualify, a building must be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Both the Old Colony Bank and the former school administration building are not currently listed, although the bank building has been nominated for inclusion and Amaral has been exploring the process, Cassidy said.
In other matters, Cassidy told the PRA that work is progressing on the new CVS pharmacy that is being constructed on the site of the old Pawtucket/Central Falls train depot. He said that repairs have been made to the old train depot building as planned. He also said that work is to begin shortly to build a new retaining wall near the Amtrak railroad tracks on the Pawtucket side of the property in order to expand parking.
In other matters, Gregory Scown, a longtime member of the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency who serves as its secretary, announced he is resigning due to an upcoming move to Cumberland.
Scown said he regrets having to leave the agency, but the charter dictates that members must be city residents. His last meeting as secretary will be June 1, he said.