After sitting storm-damaged and vacant, work is in the final stage for completing the restoration of the Augustus Mayo House. Built in 1898, the 4,224 square-foot two-story is on the National Register of Historic Places. Less than a block east of Broad at 822 Ford St. in Lake Charles, the Colonial Revival-style is ideally suited for a professional firm, according to Dr. Scott Worley.

Worley, a local pediatric dentist, his wife Donna and their youngest son Anthony, are investing in the future of the Lake Area by preserving its past. Federal and state tax credits were a big incentive, Worley said. This is the family’s first commercial endeavor.

“Construction and renovation is in my wife’s DNA,” the local pediatric dentist said. “Her father is a general contractor in Alabama.”

Up until recently, they have only taken on the contracting-out of small residential projects. Their introduction to the state and federal tax credit application process is the 1890 Queen Ann Victorian at 518 Division St. once occupied by the Muller family.

“I had a friend who was bringing old, historic properties back to life in New Orleans,” Worley said. “I asked him about the tax credits, and he gave me the name of the architect he was using, and I contacted her.”

Worley said having someone familiar with the application process was invaluable. Receiving the credits is an arduous process, and involves three distinct steps or stages, but well worth it in the end, according to Worley. Credits are for income-producing property.

The State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO) 20 percent tax credit and the National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior 20 percent tax credit is a direct, dollar-for-dollar reduction in the amount of money a taxpayer must pay in taxes over a five-year period.

Work must be certified by the Division of Historic Preservation as meeting the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Features have to be preserved. New additions and alterations must be compatible with the building’s architectural integrity. Following the same guidelines, applying for both credits, federal and state, is simultaneous.

“The amount you’re spending on your renovation, and these have to be qualifying renovation expenses, has to be more than the assessed value of the house,” Worley said. “That doesn’t include the land.”

First, Worley had to establish that the properties were eligible for the credits,” Worley said. “Then we drew up plans to receive approval through SHPO, after that you can start at once.” Worley needed to. The Ford Street and Division Street properties had roof and window damage from the hurricanes.

SHPO would not let Worley change out the front door or keep the trim consistent over windows and doors. If a piece of trim wasn’t there, it couldn’t be added. On the day of the interview, he was getting ready for the final SHPO walkthrough, and trying to find the right globes for a stairway chandelier that was original to the property.

“The point is to preserve that architectural history,” Worley said.

The refinished old-growth yellow pine floors from the 1800s now gleam. Walls are freshly painted with historic house colors. Stair newel posts, handrails and banisters are polished to a shine. Structurally, everything had to be replaced, roof, plumbing and electrical. Air conditioning had to be installed.

It was a costly endeavor that made Worley particularly grateful for the tax credits, and even with today’s interest rates and increase in other costs, he said he would do it again.

“This is restoring American history,” he said. “This place has soul. It has something newly-built places don’t, and it has the passion that Donna and I put into bringing it back. To build new just doesn’t interest us. That’s not our niche.”