House passes Freeman bill to create factory/mill revitalization tax credit
Rep. Robert L. Freeman July 8, 2025 | 10:04 AM
HARRISBURG, July 8 – In a bipartisan vote Monday, the state House of Representatives passed a bill authored by Rep. Robert Freeman that would create a state tax incentive to rehabilitate old factories or mills in Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvania has a long-established history of industrial manufacturing with just about every community containing a factory or mill building that manufactured everything from steel to vehicles, textiles, shoes and garments or numerous other arrays of manufactured goods. These factories and mills were once major employers, and their manufacturing operations were the mainstay of a community’s economic life,” said Freeman, D-Northampton.
“Using a building such as a former factory or mill for a purpose other than what it was originally intended for is a way to reuse buildings that have stood in our communities for many decades. Some of these buildings have witnessed the test of time for more than one hundred years. They may be vacant or underutilized structures, but they were solidly constructed and lend themselves to adaptive reuse.”
House Bill 1575 would amend the PA Tax Reform Code to establish a tax incentive program for the rehabilitation or reconstruction of certifiable factory or mill complexes by providing a tax credit of up to 25% for the rehabilitation and reconstruction costs incurred by the owner.
The bill would provide up to $15 million in tax credits to be used for the rehabilitation and renovation of factory or mill projects across Pennsylvania with individual program eligible buildings limited to a maximum of $1.5 million in tax credits.
“It is my hope that this financial incentive will encourage owners to breathe new life into these former industrial buildings, many of which have become a part of a community’s heritage and identity. Repurposing an old factory or mill for retail, office or arts space, or transforming them into dwellings, encourages economic development and improves the quality of life of a community,” Freeman said.
Freeman cited an example in Easton, where a 19th Century complex of industrial buildings along Bushkill Creek that served as a silk mill employing over 1,000 people in its heyday, but had become vacant over time, was successfully rehabilitated. Its red brick buildings have become apartments, restaurants, and home to numerous commercial enterprises, demonstrating how successful the adaptive reuse of factories and mill buildings can be.
Freeman said the legislation is modeled after similar legislation that was enacted in the Carolinas and New England states.
House Bill 1575 moves to the state Senate for consideration.