Amy forwards along this press release from Georgia’s State Preservation Office announcing that Decatur’s downtown has been accepted onto the National Register of Historic Places.  The districts borders are “roughly bordered by N. McDonough Street on the west, East Howard Avenue on the south, Hillyer and Commerce streets on the east, and East Ponce de Leon Avenue on the north.”

The rest of the release provides a short synopsis of downtown Decatur’s historical significance…

The Decatur Downtown Historic District was listed in the National Register at the local level of significance because the commercial and residential buildings are representative of architectural styles and types built in Georgia cities from the end of the 19th century through the middle of the 20th century. Decatur has many good intact examples of commercial architecture that date from its period of greatest growth during the late 19th century into the 1960s. Many prominent Atlanta area architects designed buildings in Decatur including Bodin & Lamberson, Bothwell & Nash, Walker & Chase, Frances Daves, Edwards & Sayward, Pope Fuller, Ivey & Crook, Edmund Lind, Gottfried Norrman, and Pringle & Smith. Some of these architectural firms designed several buildings in Decatur.

Downtown Decatur retained its importance as a regional center of commerce from the late 19th to the middle of the 20th century. Typically the county seat filled this role, and provided for the day-to-day commercial needs of nearby residents, such as retail stores and offices and professional services. The district is significant for its development as a crossroads community with a railroad. The major road orientation, street grid pattern, and railroad line remain intact from the historic period. As the county seat, Decatur is also significant for the presence of buildings directly related to activities and events associated with government, such as the county courthouses and city hall.

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Amy sends along this press release from Georgia’s SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office)…

Ponce de Leon Court Historic District Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

ATLANTA (November 21, 2011) – The Ponce de Leon Court Historic District, located a few blocks east of the downtown Decatur square in DeKalb County, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 2, 2011. The city of Decatur and the property owners sponsored the nomination and a consultant prepared the nomination materials.

The Ponce de Leon Court Historic District is a single street that was developed in the 1920s by John L. Womack (1887-1956). His wife’s name (Margaret H. Womack) is listed on the subdivision plat, reportedly to insulate family assets from his various business ventures. The Womacks purchased the first tract in 1921, where they built their house at the end of the street. Subsequent tracts were purchased in 1922 and 1924. Subdivision plats for the street date from 1924, 1925, and 1926. John Womack was a small business owner, builder, developer, salesman, and amateur horticulturalist. Also known as “J.L.,” Womack owned the Fulton Lime and Cement Company in Atlanta, one of several businesses he managed.

Ponce de Leon Court is a short residential street containing 26 lots terminating in a cul-de-sac. The original development plan included this cul-de-sac as a way to direct traffic around a circular planter. Lots are deep and narrow, except for the developer’s property at the end of the street, which contains a large two-story house built in 1921 by John and Margaret Womack. This house was converted into apartments in 1958. Most lots have modest single-family, one-story homes dating from the 1920s, but there are also a few duplexes and three small apartment buildings in the district. The street maintains a unified character through similar setbacks, subtropical vegetation, sidewalks with planter strips on both sides, and houses that are generally the same scale. A few surviving palm trees and bamboo also distinguish this street from others in the area. House types include bungalows and side-gabled cottages. Stylistic influences are primarily Craftsman and Colonial Revival. Some houses have enclosed front porches, but overall the district has a high degree of integrity. The district also includes three buildings at the beginning of the street, facing East Ponce de Leon Avenue, a major east-west street through Decatur. One of these is a 1922 two-story brick apartment building with classical features typical of many built in the Atlanta area at that time.

On to Decatur’s Strategic Plan goal #4!  Almost forgot to post today!

Goal 4: Protect and encourage the creative reuse of historic buildings, structures, and places

The preservation of Decatur’s historic buildings, structures, and places is essential to retaining its identity as the community grows and changes.

Significant progress has been made in the past decade in understanding how fortunate Decatur is with regard to such resources, but more remains to be done to encourage the preservation and appropriate reuse of historic structures.

Task 4A: Educate and encourage commercial property owners about historic preservation tax credits.

Task 4B: Educate about the Georgia Cities Foundation loan program and encourage its use.

Task 4C: Place all eligible buildings and districts on the National Register of Historic Places.

Task 4D: Increase public awareness of historic buildings and places.

Task 4E: Develop regulations regarding demolition of historic commercial structures that are outside the scope of local historic districts.

Decatur Planning Director Amanda Thompson brought this to the attention of the city commission on Monday night and I asked her to forward me the details so I could share with the online world.

Downtown Decatur was placed on the National Register of Historic Places this October and the Cakes & Ale build out along Church Street will be the first local business to reap the benefits.  Here are the cold hard facts:

Cakes and Ale is a case study of a city, property owner, business owner, and the state and federal government working together to preserve an important part of the historic square and establishing a new business that will bring diners and dollars to Decatur.

1) Federal preservation tax credits equaling 20 % of renovation costs (no cap) will be captured by the property owner.

2) State preservation tax credits(25% with a cap of $300K) and a 8 ½ year property tax freeze will be captured by the property owners and the value will be given to the business owner for the build out costs.

3) A low interest loan from the GA Cities Foundation will be acquired by the Decatur DDA on behalf of the business owners to help purchase the equipment for the restaurant and fund some of the build out.

4) Federal program allowing the tax credit of equipment purchase will be utilized by the property owners. The end result of this program is that the equipment will cost them less than 50% of the original cost.

The initial demolition of non-historic interiors has uncovered an old wall advertisement for Mrs. Teeles Bakery and Alberts Real Estate. The original wood floors in two of the spaces are in good enough condition that they can be saved and restored.

In related news, the MAK District is currently applying to the State Preservation Office for a similar listing on the National Register of Historic Places.  MAK was Decatur’s first local historic district, but it isn’t currently listed with the NRHP.

The Proposed Downtown District

Among the items on next Monday’s City Commission agenda is a request to authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with the State Preservation Office to prepare a National Register nomination for a section of downtown.

According to a letter among the materials for the meeting, Planning Director Amanda Thompson states that property owners in the proposed district were notified of the potential nomination last month and that additional mailings and meetings would be held to keep residents updated and familar with the process.

As Thompson states in her letter to the Commission (page 21), a National Register District is designed to “provide recognition for historic resources and tax incentives for renovation projects.”  (In fact, Sonny just increased the state incentives last year – 20% of qualified work , up to $100,000 for residential and $300,000 for commercial)

And unlike local historic districts, National Register Districts do not place any restrictions or design review on property owners…unless you’re the Fed.  Then you gotta go talk to Ken Salazar first.

Glad to hear this is moving forward!  Its a great idea that will benefit downtown property owners and get more of the city’s history down on paper (which is a couple steps above the old slash and burn policies of 40 years ago.)

At tonight’s city commission meeting, the city is scheduled to award the historic resources survey to Keystone Preservation Associates and Morrison Design.

The $35,000 project will document all properties in Decatur outside of the historic districts with a digital photograph and a “property inventory sheet”. Once the survey is complete, Keystone and Morrison will produce a final report and public presentation of their findings and make recommendations for what is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

The project was conceived back in 2007, when controversy surrounding the proposed Oakhurst Historic District was even more confused by the fact that the city had no complete database of its built environment.

OK, I’m a few days behind on this news…but to those preservation-minded individuals in the area, its huge.

Back on May 15th, Sonny signed House Bill 851, which increases the historic preservation tax credit from $5,000 per building renovation/rehabilitation project cap to a whopping $100,000 for residential properties and $300,000 for commercial. ALSO, it increases the tax credit to 25% of the total project cost for both residential and commercial. Much better than the old 10% for residential and 20% for commercial!

As always, in order to qualify the building must either be individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a contributing structure in a NRHP-listed historic district. To those a little gun shy about local historic districts as of late, don’t confuse a National Register District with a local historic district, as they are completely separate entities. In fact, Decatur’s MAK District is the only historic district in Decatur that is both a local historic district and a National Register district. None of the other local districts have yet to apply for NRHP status. Both of Decatur’s current National Register areas are in Oakhurst. South Candler/Agnes Scott and Winonna Park are the only National Register Districts in Decatur. To see a full list of Decatur properties on the NRHP, click here and search “GA” and “Decatur”. (Not all search results are in the city of Decatur)

Unlike a local historic district, National Register districts exist mainly to provide tax incentives to property owners, along with providing some pseudo-protection in the case that the state or federal government wants to tear down your property (to build a highway or government building, etc…)

If you already own a NRHP property and want to rehab it to receive the tax credit, the final step is getting your renovation plans approved by the National Park Service.

Hopefully this mammoth increase will not only motivate residents to rehab their historic properties, but also create a few more NRHP districts in the area, which get residents learning more about the unique heritage of their neighborhoods.