Lynn and Sally Piller are Lawrence's first recipients of a new tax credit aimed at helping homeowners maintain the state's historic homes.
"It's great, it's really going to help," said Sally Piller.
Sally Piller holds an old book containing photos of homes in Lawrence, one of which is her home at 711 Ind., photographed around 1913. State legislators recently enacted a new tax credit that helps homeowners maintain their historic homes. The Pillers are Lawrence's first recipients.
The Pillers, who live at 711 Ind., plan to restore the long-missing porch that once wrapped around the front of their 100-year-old house. When they're finished, they'll get a state income tax credit worth 25 percent of the project costs.
State legislators enacted the tax credit during the 2001 legislative session.
"We've approved nine or 10 applications so far," said Christy Davis, a preservation specialist with the Kansas State Historical Society and coordinator of the tax credit program.
"This the residence at 711 Ind. is the first in Lawrence," Davis said.
Until now, Davis said, preservation tax credits were federal and applied only to income-producing properties, which tended to exclude older, historic homes.
The house at 711 Ind., shown in this photograph from 1913, is being restored under a new preservation tax credit from the state.
The new tax credit applies only to state income taxes. It's available to homes as well as income-producing properties.
"We all know that to repair or maintain historic properties and to do it right can be expensive," she said. "The tax credit makes it more affordable."
The credit can be applied to an eligible homeowner's state income taxes for up to 10 years.
The Pillers' porch is eligible because photographs from the early 1900s show it was part of the house's original architecture.
"I've always thought this was cool house, but I've always thought it was sort of odd looking, too," Piller said. "It has a turret that looks like a silo or observatory. It's looks different or unique, but when I saw the photographs of what it looked like in 1913 with the big, circular porch in the front, it all made perfect sense."
Piller declined to say how much the porch will cost.
Records at the Watkins Community Museum of History show the house once belonged to Jacob H. Cohn, who ran The Fair, a long-standing dry goods store at 743 Mass. Cohn, who was active in the Lawrence Merchants Assn., is thought to have lived at 711 Ind. from 1905 to 1925. He died in 1928.
The house also has been known as "the Van Vleck place," a reference to previous owners Fred and Charlotte Van Vleck.
The Pillers bought the house from George Gurley, a Journal-World editorial columnist, in May 2001.
"We see this house as a responsibility, and we have strong feelings about doing what's right for it," Piller said. "And right now, a very important part of it is missing: the porch."
Ann Goans, a preservation activist, welcomed news of the tax credit's first appearance in Lawrence.
"I've talked to several people in Old West Lawrence who intend to make use of this," she said. "It's a good thing. For someone who's on the edge of being able to afford taking on a much-needed project, this could make it happen."
Information about the tax credit is available by calling Katrina Klingaman at the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office, (785) 272-8681, ext. 240, or e-mail cultural_resources@kshs.org.
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