Comments on: Cakes & Ale Benefits From Downtown Decatur Listing on the National Register

By: lumpintheroad

lumpintheroad — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:04:47 +0000

On a related note, Ponce de Leon Court, which was named a Decatur historic district in early 2006 and listed in the Georgia Register of Historic Places last June, received the following update after inquiring about the status of our National Register nomination (submitted in June):

“Thank you for your inquiry regarding Ponce de Leon Court National Register nomination. The district was listed in the Georgia Register of Historic Places in June 2010.

The next step in the nomination process is for a Historic Preservation Division’s National Register staff member to complete the official form according to National Register standards and submit it to the National Register in Washington, DC. Because of staff reductions, we are finding that it is not always possible for us to process National Register nominations as quickly as we would like to.

I expect that the nomination will be forwarded to the National Register in early spring 2011. The National Register has a 45-day review period, and we will notify the city and send out a press release as soon as the district is listed. Although the process is a lengthy one, the Historic Preservation Division prides itself on having an excellent acceptance rate of nominations to the National Register, so be certain that the district will be listed.”

By: Decatur Metro

Decatur Metro — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:45:35 +0000

It seems that some people read this post as me not being supportive of this initiative. (Perhaps my sloppy use of “cold, hard facts” – which was supposed to be a poor play on “cold, hard cash”.)

That couldn’t be farther from the truth and I applaud both the city and Cakes & Ale for taking advantage of the incentives out there that only require a bit of thoughtful planning and extra effort to bear fruit.

So many communities around the country are so mired in political infighting and basic planning arguments that they let all these programs pass them by. A city can LOOK impressive and still be a ridiculous mess behind the scenes.

What makes Decatur’s government one of the best is all the quiet stuff that goes on behind the scenes and without fanfare – like getting downtown on the NRHP. It’s a proactive step to protecting some of the community’s most historic buildings and encouraging development. A rare thing in a reactionary world.

By: altmod

altmod — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 21:23:40 +0000

So excited to see the preservation–especially the bakery sign (fate!).

By: Kristin

Kristin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:25:17 +0000

From Kristin of Cakes & Ale: Just a note on items #1 and #2 above: the Federal and State Tax credits are not automatic with the renovation. Instead, the plans are reviewed at the State and Federal levels to see if they comply with set historic standards before the tax credits are approved. We’ve actually hired an architect named Brandy Morrison who (along with Regina Brewer of the City of Decatur) are helping us through the renovation to ensure our design is in compliance with these historic standards. For example, we had a large bank of windows on the side of the building on Church Street, but we shrunk the sizes of these windows to comply with the standards. We also redesigned the bakery entrance to match the general footprint of the original bakery (Mrs. Teeles) and are keeping all the original plaster ceilings and walls. We definitely wouldn’t be able to do this huge renovation without these credits and incentives, and it’s so much fun to see this old building come back to life!

By: DECATURKJ

DECATURKJ — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:59:42 +0000

From one of the MAK folks, huge thanks to Regina Brewer, who is always super-helpful. She’s a great resource, and we so are lucky to have her as part of our city team.