Transcript Historic Preservation in America’s Legacy Cities Conference June 6, 2014   Lavea Brachman, Executive Director of Greater Ohio Policy Center.

Historic Preservation in America’s
Legacy Cities Conference
June 6, 2014


Lavea Brachman, Executive Director of Greater Ohio Policy Center
An outcome-oriented statewide nonprofit organization that champions
revitalization and sustainable
redevelopment in Ohio:

Revitalize Ohio’s urban cores and
metropolitan regions

Achieve sustainable land reuse and
economic growth
 Our
greatest glory is
not in never falling, but
in rising every time we
fall. (Confucius)
I
like the dreams of the
future better than the
history of the past.
(Thomas Jefferson)
The quality of significance in American history,
architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture is
present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and
objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting,
materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and:
• Are associated with historical events; or
• Are associated with the lives of significant persons in or past; or
• Embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of
construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess
high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable
entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or
• Have yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history
or prehistory.
From http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb22/
Preserving
culture
Preserving
quality of place
Preserving an
economy
Photos from
http://postcardparadise.blogspot.com/2010/04/streetcar-sundayakron-ohio.html and http://www.akronapex.com/vision.aspx
An historic neighborhood in Detroit
% Increase in Property Value for Dayton Neighborhoods
from 1996 - 2012
80%
70%
71%
60%
50%
40%
30%
22%
20%
10%
0%
Historic Districts
Non-Historic Districts
Source: Chart from GOPC, Data from Dayton Landmark Preservation Task Force including the
University of Dayton Business Research Group
% Increase in Property Value for Dayton Neighborhoods
from 1996 - 2012
450%
400%
350%
300%
250%
200%
150%
100%
50%
0%
395%
71%
62%
All Dayton Historic
Districts
22%
Historic Districts
Historic Districts Non-Historic Dayton
Receiving
(Excluding those
Neighborhoods
Significant Other receiving significant
Investment
other investment)
Source: Chart from GOPC, Data from Dayton Landmark Preservation Task Force report, prepared by the
University of Dayton Business Research Group
From Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program
Annual Report
Tire plant, Akron, Ohio, 1964
Photo from
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/1
1/25_years_ago_driving_back_the.html
Goodyear Headquarters, Akron, Ohio, 2013
Photo from http://www.industryweek.com/expansionmanagement/goodyear-opens-new-global-hq-slideshow
• Suburbanization
• Regional migration
• Loss of central
functions
• Deindustrialization
• Job loss
Unemployment
Impoverishment
Weak demand
Physical decline
Vacancy and
abandonment
• Fiscal incapacity
• Deteriorating public
services
•
•
•
•
•
Housing Vacancy Rates for Legacy City Urban Areas
13.5%
13.0%
Akron, OH
12.5%
Cincinnati, OH--KY--IN
12.0%
Cleveland, OH
11.5%
Dayton, OH
11.0%
10.5%
Detroit, MI
10.0%
Toledo, OH--MI
9.5%
9.0%
2007
Source: GOPC Chart, Data from ACS 3-year Estimates
Youngstown, OH--PA
2012
Working with what you have and
making better use of existing space
When an organization starts using
a computer system that is better,
less expensive, and smaller
Reducing packaging size by using a
box that minimizes empty space
while still protecting the contents,
removing waste and maximizing
transportation efficiency.
Matching a City,
its services, and
its infrastructure
to current
population and
needs
An end in
and of
itself?
Or a piece
of the
puzzle?
St. Luke’s Manor, Cleveland
Photo from
http://www.huduser.org/portal/about/ExcellenceHistPre
s_2012_1.html
The current supply of buildings
exceeds the demand.
Failure to demolish imposes severe
social and economic costs on urban
neighborhoods.
Strategic, cost-effective demolition is
vital to stabilizing and revitalizing cities
and their neighborhoods.
Content from Laying the Groundwork for Change by Alan Mallach
Dayton, Ohio
Photo from Downtown Dayton Partnership
Photos by GOPC
Maintain
streetscape
rhythm and a
coherent building
ensemble
• Setback
• Architecture
• Balance
between
buildings and
space
http://www.virtourist.com/america/pittsburgh/44.htm
Develop tools for public and
private property
Private
Incentives
like grants
and loans for
property
improvement
Regulatory
strategies
Public
Receivership
Convey to
qualified
party for
rehab and
sale
Demolish
State
• Pass Neighborhood Infrastructure Assistance Program (SB149/HB219).
• Amend public nuisance statute (R.C. Ch. 3767.41) to include commercial
and industrial properties
• Tighten regulations around scrap metal recycling (R.C. Ch 4737.04)
• Request the Secretary of State to require LLCs and corporations to
register a statutory agent that is located in Ohio
• Establish Rehabilitation Building Codes that are separate from and more
flexible than codes for new construction.
Local
• Strategically align preservation and demo resources, targeting middlemarket neighborhoods and viable blocks within such neighborhoods
• On targeted blocks or corridors, eliminate blight entirely
• Aggressively use state and local tools to recover costs of demolition
Monitoring market shifts
county-wide
Funneling financial resources
Identifying target areas
Convening stakeholders
Facilitating rehab and
demolition
Clearing property title and
managing property inventory
Historic Building in the West End, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photo from http://www.hamiltoncountylandbank.org/portfolio-items/1201-linn/
Hamilton County Land Reutilization Corporation currently accepting
redevelopment proposals for the space.
Market
conditions
• Areas where demolition
would enhance reuse
potential of neighboring
buildings
Neighborhood
conditions
• A strong social fabric
• Active CDC-led
stabilization or
revitalization activities
• Features that suggest
greater market potential,
• A significant planned
public investment in an
area, such as a new
school or transit station.
Eliminate ALL
blight on key
blocks or
corridors
• Blocks around a school
or along main
thoroughfare to a school
• Area adjacent to new
private market
construction
• Area for targeted CDC
stabilization program
Cities should develop integrated neighborhood stabilization
programs where demolition, preservation, vacant lot reuse,
and other activities are linked strategically into a
comprehensive effort.
Cities should establish priority criteria.
Cities should engage a wide range of stakeholders in
decision-making.
Local demolition programs should incorporate specific steps
to prevent the resulting vacant lots from becoming blighting
elements, and ensure that lots are used in ways that enhance
neighborhood stability.
Content from Laying the Groundwork for Change by Alan Mallach
Slavic Village, Cleveland
Photo from http://slavicvillagehomes.org/1971-2/
Re-establish the economic
role of the city
Use assets to build
competitive advantages
Build stronger local
governance and
partnerships
Trumbull County Courthouse, Warren OH
Education
Health
Technology
Sports
Tourism
Manufacturing
Food
Arts & Culture
Physical Assets
Institutional and
Economic Assets
Leadership and
Human Capital
Assets
Downtown Mansfield, Mansfield Ohio
from http://www.hivelocitymedia.com/cities/Mansfield/
Inhabitants
Population Development of Leipzig
*Eingemeindung = Annexation
Promoting physical redevelopment
• Focus on downtown retail and residential
• Greening strategy (small and large scale)
• Shrinkage strategy in selected neighborhoods
• Preservation
Targeting select neighborhoods
• Using federal-state funding programs that support demolition
and rehab in East German cities’ distressed neighborhoods
Comprehensive planning – integrated across city
agencies
• Tied to extensive data gathering and monitoring
Old Town Hall
Photo from
abritabroad11.blogspot.com/
Waldstrassenviertel
Photo from http://www.architektourenleipzig.de/german/leipzig/tour_6.html#Wa
ldstrassenviertel
Communities and taxpayers face the legacy costs of a 19th
century structure in a 21st century economy
Ohio’s current local government structure and state policies impact
availability of resources
Ohio’s population growth is stagnating
Ohio is 45th in population growth, but 8th in land consumption
Fragmented and duplicative local governments prevent
effective economic competition on world market
Local Government
Other Levels of
Government
Other
Jurisdictions
Emerging High
Tech Sectors
Private and
Nonprofit Sectors
Anchor
Institutions
Neighborhood
Groups




Preservation is not a silver
bullet, but is a very important
tool
Goal of preservation in legacy
cities should be to stabilize
communities
Preservation should work in
tandem with strategic
demolition, policy changes and
other tools
Preservation should align with
larger stabilization and
economic revitalization efforts
Cleveland Institute of Art, Photo from Ohio Historic
Preservation Tax Credit Annual Report, 2010
Lavea Brachman
Executive Director
Greater Ohio Policy
Center
[email protected]
www.greaterohio.org
614-224-0187
This presentation prepared in
part by Christina Cudney
Old West End, Toledo, Ohio
Photo from Smithr1981 Wikimedia Commons