§ 14-05 Eligible Construction Work.
RCNY § 14-05
(a)For tax exemption benefits. For purposes of determining the minimum required expenditure, the exemption base and all other purposes, construction work will be eligible for tax exemption benefits under this program if the work is: (1) a permanent capital improvement to real property with a useful life of at least three years; (2) described or integrally related to work described in the approved plans and/or narrative description submitted as part of the application; (3) performed during the construction period; (4) not rendered ineligible by any provision of law or these rules or any agreement made as part of the application; and (5) creates or enhances the value of eligible commercial or industrial property by means of construction of a new building, structure or extension, by the modernization, rehabilitation or alteration of an existing building, by the erection or installation of building systems that are real property or by other physical means.
(b)For tax abatement benefits. To determine the minimum required expenditure, industrial construction work will be eligible for tax abatement benefits under this program if the work is: (1) a permanent capital improvement to real property having a useful life of at least three years; (2) described or integrally related to work described in the approved plans and/or narrative description submitted as part of the application; (3) performed during the construction period; and (4) not rendered ineligible by any provision of law or these rules or any agreement made as part of the application.
(c)Alterations. Alterations that are eligible construction work for tax exemption benefits or tax abatement benefits include, but are not limited to the following, provided that they are deemed to enhance the value of the property: (1) alterations that increase the square footage or cubic content of an existing building; and (2) modernization of core facilities including: (i) upgrading of electrical and plumbing systems; (ii) installation of new high-speed elevators and elevator banks; (iii) renovation or new installation of the "skin" of a structure; (iv) major upgrading of lobby space; (v) reconfiguration of multi-tenant floor space to single tenant space; (vi) installation of central HVAC systems; (vii) major abatement of asbestos contamination; (viii) conversion of obsolete office space into functional space; and (ix) major conversion of a building's use involving structural changes.
(d)Work not deemed to be construction work. Construction work does not include: (1) Ordinary repairs, replacements or redecoration; (2) Installation of personal property; (3) Extension of streets, sewers, water or utility systems to a site not provided with such services; or (4) Installation of satellite dishes, billboards, or cellular and microwave antennae.
(e)Earthwork or partial demolition. Earthwork or partial demolition may be included in the construction work on a project if: (1) the earthwork or partial demolition is integrally related to the other construction work on the project and is commenced not more than one year before commencement of the other work and after the date that a preliminary application was filed; (2) the applicant requests inclusion of the earthwork or partial demolition in the preliminary application or a subsequent notice filed at least 15 business days before the commencement of the earthwork or partial demolition and before a permit for the earthwork or partial demolition is issued; and (3) for purposes of determining the exemption base only, the Department determines that the earthwork or partial demolition enhances the value of an eligible building.
(f)Notice of completion.
(1)The applicant must notify the Department, in writing, within 60 days of completion of the project. If the project has not been completed by the end of the construction period, the applicant must notify the Department of the extent of construction completed as of that date.
(2)The notice of completion must contain certification by a New York State licensed engineer or architect, or general contractor that the narrative description provided in the final application, as last amended, is an accurate and complete description of the completed project; and (i) A final certificate of occupancy or any equivalent document issued by the Department of Buildings acknowledging completion of construction; and (ii) Where no certificate of occupancy is required by the Department of Buildings for construction work described in the narrative description, the date upon which that construction work was completed; or (iii) Temporary certificate of occupancy plus proof that the applicant has incurred 90 percent of the construction expenses.
(3)The notice of completion must include a detailed itemized statement of the cost of construction. This statement must be certified by a certified public accountant, unless the project cost is less than $1,000,000, in which case the statement may be certified by the applicant.
(g)In the case of an abandoned project, only construction work that is the subject of a newly issued or renewal permit will be eligible for exemption and abatement benefits. Eligible construction for an abandoned project will qualify for benefits only if it is the subject of a preliminary application filed prior to the date on which the new or renewal permit was issued. Where a renovation or new construction for which a building permit was previously issued is abandoned, either a newly issued building permit or the renewal of a previously issued building permit may be deemed a first building permit to determine a certificate of eligibility's effective date. An abandoned project is a project where construction or renovation construction work was commenced by an applicant but has ceased for at least two consecutive years at the time an application is filed for the new project.
