(a) Eligibility for allocation of funding.

1. (1) Upon the approval of Part 2 of the application, a rehabilitation project shall become eligible to apply for the funding reservation award within the Arkansas Major Historic Rehabilitation Trust Fund within the allocation of funding enrollment period.
2. (2) Funding must be allocated to a project via Part 3 before it may submit Part 4 of its application.

(b) Part 3 application components. All Part 3 application must contain:

1. (1) The completed Part 1 application;
2. (2) The completed Part 2 application;

3. (3)

   1. (A) A commercially reasonable estimate of total eligible rehabilitation costs signed by a licensed commercial contractor.
   2. (B) Estimates shall not result in the reservation of more than twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) in funding; and
4. (4) The Allocation Priority Score Application.

(c) Allocation Priority Score Application.

1. (1) The Allocation Priority Score Application will contain the following categories that applicants may request for certification and cumulative scoring:

   1. (A) Primary prioritization category (select up to three (3) to apply for):

(i) Creation of a new business (up to eighty (80) points);

1. (ii) Expansion of an existing business (up to seventy-five (75) points);

   1. (iii) Establishment of a tourism attraction (up to seventy (70) points);

      1. (iv) Revitalization of a commercial historic district (up to sixty-five (65) points); or
      2. (v) Rehabilitation of a significant property in a historic neighborhood (up to sixty (60) points); and

   2. (B) Secondary prioritization category (select all applicable):

      1. (i) Potential structural crisis and dilapidation (up to fifty (50) points);
      2. (ii) Percentage of occupancy increase (up to fifty (50) points);
      3. (iii) Financing availability (up to fifty (50) points);
      4. (iv) Historic importance of property to the state or local community (up to fifty (50) points); or
      5. (v) Potential to contribute to revitalization (up to fifty (50) points).

2. (2) Applications for the funding reservation award shall be reviewed and Allocation Priority Score Applications scored by the State Historic Preservation Officer in consultation with the Director of the Division of Arkansas Heritage and the Federal Programs and Tax Credit Manager within the Division of Arkansas Heritage.

   1. (d) Reservation process.

3. (1)

   1. (A) The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program shall first have an open reservation application period from March 1, 2024, to March 31, 2024.
   2. (B) In this period, major historic rehabilitation projects that have completed Part 1 and Part 2 applications may apply for the allocation of funds.
   3. (C) At the conclusion of the application period, the projects shall be scored.
   4. (D) No project with a score of less than one hundred (100) shall be given a funding allocation.

   5. (E) When funding all allocation applications with a score of one hundred (100) or greater would cause allocated funds to exceed the amount certified available:

      1. (i) The projects shall be ranked; and
      2. (ii) The highest score shall be given the highest priority.
   6. (F) Projects that would cause the allocation of funds to exceed the current certification shall be rolled over to the next open reservation application period for rescoring.
   7. (G) No project shall be awarded more than twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) in funding.

4. (2)

   1. (A) Beginning in the 2025 fiscal year, the Division of Arkansas Heritage shall have biannual open application periods each July 1 – 31 and January 1 – 31.
   2. (B) In this period, major historic rehabilitation projects that have completed Part 1 and Part 2 applications may apply for Part 3 allocation of funding.
   3. (C) At the conclusion of the application period, the Allocation Priority Score Applications shall be scored.
   4. (D) No project with a score of less than one hundred (100) shall be given funding allocation.

   5. (E) When allocating funding for all allocation applications with a score of one hundred (100) or greater would, as measured by the program, cause the amount of total allocated funds to exceed the amount certified available:

      1. (i) The projects shall be ranked; and
      2. (ii) The highest score shall be given the highest priority.
   6. (F) Projects that would cause the total amount of funds allocated via the Part 3 process to exceed the current funding certification shall be rolled over to next open reservation application period for rescoring.
   7. (G) No project shall be awarded more than twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) in funding.
   8. (H) Only projects with a funding reservation award shall be deemed to have completed Part 3 of the application.

(e) Amendments.

1. (1) Amendments may alter the:

   1. (A) Applicant;
   2. (B) Scope of the project;
   3. (C) Cost;
   4. (D) Timeline for completion;
   5. (E) Financing;
   6. (F) Rehabilitation activities; or
   7. (G) End use.
2. (2) No amendment may be accepted that materially negates the original primary or secondary prioritization categories of the restoration project.
3. (3) Amendments to the Part 3 application total rehabilitation cost reservation are acceptable to the extent additional funding is available.
4. (4) The acceptance of any amendment resides in the sole discretion of the program.

(f) Progression requirements.

1. (1)

   1. (A) Upon receiving a funding reservation award for a specific project, the program shall give the project a date by which the Part 4 application must be submitted to retain the reservation of funds.
   2. (B) This date shall consider the scope and difficulty of the project attempted, while encouraging timeliness.
   3. (C) If the Part 4 application is not submitted by the required date, the rehabilitation project must reapply for funding allocation.
2. (2) The program may request evidence of the progression of a specific project at its discretion, but no more often than every sixty (60) days.

3. (3) Acceptable evidence may include:

   1. (A) Permits;
   2. (B) Drawings;
   3. (C) Active permit applications;
   4. (D) New financial documents;
   5. (E) Purchase orders;
   6. (F) Site photographs; or
   7. (G) Other industry standard evidence of progression.
4. (4) If no material evidence is provided to the program within ninety (90) days of a request, the reservation shall be forfeited.

5. (5)

   1. (A) Forfeited reservation awards will be made available to other applicants to the extent possible.
   2. (B) The Department of Finance and Administration will be notified of any forfeiture of reservation awards for the revocation of the fund obligation.