[MassHistPres] [EXTERNAL] Abandoned Property
Anne Louro
Anne.Louro at newbedford-ma.gov
Fri Jul 24 10:46:58 EDT 2020
Hi Ellen,
In New Bedford, most of our housing stock could be characterized as historic due to age, and the AG Abandoned House program has been extremely successful in our community and I believe the AG's office uses New Bedford as a model example.
The goal of the AG's program is to bring properties up to code, and not necessarily meet preservation objectives, so it will be important for the Commission to work closely with the AG office and the appointed receiver to ensure that historic preservation standards are incorporated into the rehabilitation.
In New Bedford, the Waterfront Historic Area League, a CEDC with a preservation mission, has been the receiver for several historic properties and I have worked with several other receivers to ensure preservation is part of the rehab scope of work. In New Bedford our local AG Office works closely with the City's Housing Office and often CDBG funding is used to support the rehab, triggering Section 106 review-love when that happens!
The program, relative to historic preservation, will only be successful if there is a clear understanding and agreement from the beginning between the AG, the appointed receiver and the Commission, as to what the rehabilitation goals are for the property and monitoring the project as it progresses.
Anne Louro
Preservation Planner, City of New Bedford
-----Original Message-----
From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> On Behalf Of ellen.l.carlson at comcast.net
Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2020 5:30 PM
To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [MassHistPres] Abandoned Property
We are contemplating appealing to the AG's Abandoned House initiative to protect a prominent historic residential property in town. The owner of record lives in another state and has for all intents and purposes abandoned the property. The grounds are not being maintained and the interior of a prominent outbuilding has been left exposed to the elements. The condition of the main house is unconfirmed. This is not a hardship situation, the owner has expressed their desire to abandon the property. The property has been vacant for nearly a decade.
Does anyone have experience working with the Abandoned House initiative to address a historic property under similar circumstances? Do you have any guidance regarding best practices in working through this program to meet historic preservation objectives?
Thanks!
Ellen Carlson
Sandwich Historical Commission
Sent from my iPhone
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