South Carolina Business Review

SC will pay you to revitalize abandoned buildings

By Mike Switzer

Published October 10, 2024 at 6:30 AM EDT

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Frank Cason, commercial real estate developer in Columbia, S.C.

You probably know that most states offer tax credits for historic preservation projects. Ours does, too, but we are also the only one in the nation that offers tax credits for revitalizing abandoned buildings, whether they are historic or not. And the Palmetto State just expanded that program. Mike Switzer interviews Frank Cason, a commercial real estate developer in Columbia, S.C.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

See stories by Mike Switzer