[MassHistPres] Historic district as tool for turnaround

[Garrett Laws]

I think it would be a good idea to talk with the people working on houses in
both neighborhoods...maybe they are the same trades people. This approach
might help in dispelling the "historic is more expensive" response. As
Somerville will tell you, this can be an uphill battle. If you can show the
tenants in the non-district apartments that they may get better homes and
maybe even work out of the process...you may have a quickly growing support
group.

Over the long haul maintenance is less expensive (in multiple ways) than
replacement!

Good luck,
Garrett

On Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 12:26 PM, <slater at alum.rpi.edu> wrote:

>  Does anyone know of any cases where a historic district was created in an
> architecturally significant, yet troubled neighborhood which resulted in the
> neighborhood becoming stronger (i.e. more owner occupancy, less crime)?
>
> We are considering attempting to create a historic district in a
> neighborhood of Springfield which has some architecturally unique and
> significant properties, but one that has been troubled in recent years. The
> architecture isn't what you'd call intact -- there have been some vinyl
> sided houses, some replacement windows -- however the basic architecture
> remains interesting and relatively unbastardized, and there are still a good
> number of properties which have not been altered. The neighborhood is about
> 70% 2-family, but only about 10% owner-occupied, with most of the investors
> being from Eastern MA.
>
> There are two schools of thought here. The first is that a district would
> not work well in the neighborhood because it could repel investors who would
> not want to comply with higher standards; it could present problems with
> owner occupants who may not financially be able to spend the extra money to
> make historically appropriate changes.
>
> The other school of thought is that the protections afforded to homeowners
> will repel the wrong kind of fast-buck investors, and will give
> owner-occupants the confidence in the neighborhood to invest a little more
> in their own properties. I side with the latter sentiment, since I purchased
> a house in a historic district for those exact reasons.
>
> The historic district would only be one part of the puzzle -- we're not
> thinking this is a panacea, we think that it is a tool which, along with
> other tools such as increased attention, community development money, etc.,
> would help turn the neighborhood around.
>
> The two streets in question abut two historic district streets, and due to
> problems with the non-district streets people are feeling a little antsy
> about the two district streets since they are like a little island in a
> storm. If the two non-district streets turned around this would make the
> island a little bigger and hopefully buffer the existing streets better.
>
> I'd be curious to know if this has been tried anywhere in this state
> before.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ralph Slate
> Springfield, MA
>
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-- 
Cheers,
Garrett

Garrett Laws, Manager
The Copper & Slate Company
Fine Roofing and Exterior Finish Carpentry
238A Calvary Street
Waltham, MA 02453
Ph: (781) 893-1916
Fax: (781) 893-2041

Copperandslate at Gmail.com or
GLaws at hbuilders.net
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