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

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has taken on the teardown trend. In its online “Teardowns Glossary,” it defines teardowns as “The practice of purchasing a home on a lot, demolishing it, and constructing a new, larger house in its place; the purchased home is typically small and older; the newly built house is oversized for the lot and out-of-character for the neighborhood….” In some cases, these new sprawling houses are referred to as “McMansions.” The problem is so vexing nationwide (as evidenced not only by hard data, but also by websites such as the aptly-named “TeardownsandLand.com”), that the Trust has created a specialized Teardown Resource Center. Trust President Richard Moe has declared, “I believe they represent the biggest threat to America's older neighborhoods since the heyday of urban renewal and interstate highway construction ... The pace of teardowns has amounted to an orgy of irrational destruction."

In Ohio, the problem is perhaps not as overwhelming as it is elsewhere, but it is increasingly making life difficult in some Ohio communities. This excellent coverage of teardowns in the Cincinnati Enquirer demonstrates the fact that the trend is impacting two different types of areas – inner-city neighborhoods where housing is older, smaller and often in need of extensive repair, and affluent inner-ring suburbs, where larger homes are simply “not large enough” for current tastes. As the article also points out, the primary issue tends to be one of compatibility.

This year we have profiled both proposed conservation neighborhood district legislation in Columbus, designed in part to address the issue of compatibility, as well as the ongoing efforts of city leaders in Mansfield to construct new single-family housing in the midst of older, inner-city neighborhoods. Across the country, the end of 2006 is seeing some easing of the teardown trend, as the nation’s housing boom has largely come to an end, but the issue is sure to re-surface when the economy improves.

Photo: Another McMansion rises/Dean Terry/Creative Commons 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

According to a recent story in the Celina Daily Standard, Ohio ranks second in the country in the number of abandoned Wal-Mart buildings, as 20 vacated Wal-Marts dot the state. Nationally, the chain has 24,000,000 square feet of vacated buildings siting idle in what may be the largest systematic closure of retail structures in American history.

In the current edition of Old-House Journal, Youngstown’s Crandall Park neighborhood is cited as the “…nation’s most affordable historic district,” with large period houses averaging $110,000. And – if you act soon – you can own one of Crandall Park’s gems, a magnificent 6-bedroom, 3,764 square foot home now available on EBay. Click here for a video tour.

Did you know that Ohio ranks third in the United States in terms of properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places? This fact is cited in the Ohio Historic Preservation Plan, issued by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office in Columbus.

Cleveland has been ranked 28th, and Columbus 50th, among the top 50 US cities in population in terms of “urban sustainability.” The SustainLane rankings look at aspects of civic life including renewable power sources, “green” design, city commuting, public transit, air quality and more.

Photo: Downtown Youngstown, circa 1910

On November 29, Preservation Ohio received a historic conservation easement on the historic Fox Hollow Farm, located in Washington Township, Montgomery County (near Dayton).

The parcel is bounded on the west by Mad River Road, and to the east and south by Holes Creek. The property was originally owned by Dr. John Hole, the first physician in Washington Township, who acquired the parcel in 1796 as part of a 1440 acre purchase in the township. The house was built over time, with its current appearance reflecting that of an early 20th century country home. The building began as a simple two story I-house in the early 19th century (c. 1815). Later in the 19th century, perhaps as early as 1840s, a two story wing was added to the southeast corner to create an L-shaped house. The final expansion occurred in the early part of the 20th century, when a two-story addition parallel to the original house was built, connected by means of the 19th century wing, giving the residence its current U-shape.

The historic bank barn is located across the circular driveway north of the residence. Built with a limestone foundation, the foundation, interior wood frame and supporting joists, and vertical board and batten siding are all intact.

Through a "preservation easement, " an owner/donor covenants to protect character-defining elements of a property, without inappropriate alterations, additions or demolition (based on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties). A qualified organization, such as Preservation Ohio, is then granted the right to enforce the covenants of the easement. The owner/donor retains all other rights associated with ownership, and the easement is then held in perpetuity. Donors of such easements are entitled to important federal tax benefits and other financial incentives

Currently Preservation Ohio maintains Ohio’s only comprehensive statewide preservation easement program, which protects properties across the state. For more information on the preservation easement program, click here, or drop us a line at: info@preservationohio.org.

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