As the current year comes to a close, many Ohio communities are looking forward to launching preservation-related projects in 2007.

Leading that list are the six Ohio cities (Delphos, Marion, Vermilion, Oak Harbor, Waterville and Wellington) that were recently awarded 2006 Comprehensive Downtown Revitalization CDBG grants from the Ohio Department of Development. Included in those local projects are a combined total of 95 facade and 58 interior renovations.

In Fremont, filling key large downtown buildings in a priority for the city’s economic development office in the coming year, according to this story in the News-Messenger.

Among members of Marietta City Council expressing wishes for the coming year was Councilwoman Katie McGlynn, who listed her wish for a historic preservation ordinance for that Ohio River community according to the Marietta Times.

In Downtown Akron, 2007 will see the launch of a $15 million investment into the area of the historic Civic Theater, according to this Akron Beacon Journal story. Five adjacent buildings will be renovated, including the 1895 Whitelaw Building, which had been previously considered for demolition, with the area to include restaurants, retail and housing.

Any review of upcoming downtown projects would be incomplete without mention of the transformation of the Fort Piqua Hotel in downtown Piqua into the new home of the Flesh Public Library. The $19.6 million project was officially launched with a ceremony this month.  Read about the event in this Dayton Daily News story.

Photo: Civic Theatre, Akron - elston/Creative Commons License

The 1890 Clarendon Hotel, a 15,000 square foot Richardson Romanesque building across the street from the Belmont County Courthouse in downtown St. Clairsville, is an outstanding investment opportunity. Such is the assertion of a unique marketing project from this eastern Ohio community – which includes its own website.

The site, located at www.theclarendonhotel.com, includes a complete overview of not only the building itself, but also for the vision of city leaders to transform the city-owned structure into a boutique hotel and restaurant. A $600,000 Phase 1 environmental rehabilitation project has already been completed. Visitors to the site can access photographs of the Clarendon Hotel, links to documents detailing St. Clairsville’s downtown plan and general market studies, and market projections concerning the desired hotel use.

The result is an outstanding and enticing solicitation for investment in one of a dwindling number of Ohio small-town downtown hotel buildings.

Photo: Clarendon Hotel, St. Clairsville/GNU Free Documentation License

It will be a Merry Christmas indeed for advocates of Ohio preservation if the Governor signs into law the new Ohio Rehabilitation Tax Credit, which was passed by both houses of the Ohio General Assembly last week.

The proposed legislation creates a two-year trial program for the 25% tax credit, after which an analysis will be undertaken to ascertain its impact. Each year, 100 projects can be included in the program, and each will be subject to a cost-benefit analysis conducted by the Ohio Department of Development and the Tax Commissioner to verify that a given project will have a net revenue gain in state and local taxes once the building is placed into service. Property owners can submit projects on or after July 1, 2007. To be eligible, a building must be individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, verified as contributing in a National Register Historic District, or individually listed as a historic landmark by a Certified Local Government.

This is wonderful news for Ohioans interested in re-investment in the state’s traditional city centers. States such as Missouri, which have had similar tax credits for many years, have seen increased investment as owners combine federal and state historic tax credits for much-needed capital.

Click here to read Substitute House Bill Number 149, and stay tuned to MyHometownOhio, as we cover both this important development in more detail as well as provide practical advice for owners interested in taking advantage of the new credit.

Photo: Ohio Statehouse, Christmas 2006/fensterbme/Creative Commons License

Here are some updates on stories previously featured in MyHometownOhio...

This week, the Mansfield News Journal profiled the first of the new homes now under construction in Mansfield’s “Chamber District,” an area of redevelopment surrounding Downtown. Our July 25th story profiled the ambitious plans of local leaders to re-populate traditional neighborhood areas through targeted construction of affordable housing in vacant lots. As the recent story points out, the houses are being fabricated off-site by inmates of the Mansfield Correctional Institution, and will sell for approximately $100,000 – although a financial incentive will forgive much of that debt should the new owners reside on-site for a given number of years.

In New Philadelphia, the controversial rezoning of an area near downtown for a Walgreens Drug Store has hit another potential hurdle. The structure is planned for a section of the City’s historic Franklin Square, as we shared in an October 11th story, and drew substantial criticism and protest from New Philadelphians concerned about preserving the historic integrity and character of their central city area. As detailed in this recent Times-Reporter commentary, on November 27, New Philadelphia City Council approved the rezoning by a 4-3 vote, however a local attorney has indicated that he intends to file a referendum action on the rezoning – thereby placing the issue on the ballot. This would also have the effect of delaying construction and, as the paper points out, the public would very likely vote down the proposal.

In a recent issue, the Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune reported that the local County Commissioners have come much closer to moving forward with demolition of the Seneca County Courthouse, choosing to close a window on submissions of qualifications on demolition on November 30. As we shared in a September 1st story, the demolition of this landmark building, designed by noted architect Elijah E. Myers, would represent the first 19th century courthouse demolished in Ohio in a generation. The other endangered courthouse, in Defiance County, is now is less danger, given the overwhelming defeat in November of a tax issue to fund its demolition.

Photo: Welcome Sign, Downtown New Philadelphia/kev72/CreativeCommonsLicense

Recent quotes from around Ohio concerning ongoing preservation, revitalization and sustainable growth projects:

"We're going to try to take advantage of the change in power to see what kind of change we can effect" -- Tom Moeller, city manager of Madeira, quoted in “Suburbs to Seek Strickland’s Help,” a story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer covering the recent meeting of the Ohio First Suburbs Consortium.

“The Short North is a historic district, not a museum district,” he said. “New things should be new; it’s not Williamsburg.” – David Brownstein, Victorian Village Commission, Columbus, concerning a proposed 8-story tower in the Short North entertainment district, as quoted in The Other Paper.

"There's a concern that what you do doesn't destroy in some way the historical character of a building." – Joshua Dachs with Fisher Dachs Theatre Planning and Design, quoted in the Cincinnati Enquirer, and talking about the planned large-scale renovation of Music Hall, Cincinnati’s amazing 1879 concert hall.

"There is a lot of interest in the historic clock, and we will work to ensure that it is preserved and has the best possible treatment." – Brady Kress of Dayton History, temporary custodians of Dayton’s historic Gem City Clock, which is losing its home when the Reynolds and Reynolds building is demolished, according to this story in the Dayton Daily News.

Photo: Short North, Columbus/Public Domain