Last Friday the Georgia Historic Preservation Division announced this year’s recipients of more than $96,000 in grants to support historic preservation in cities across Georgia. Many of the grants will help to jumpstart, or perhaps just start, historic preservation projects, oftentimes with a focus on economic development.
“Historic preservation works best as a partnership with local stakeholders, and we are proud of the efforts of this year’s grant recipients and all of our Certified Local Government partners,” said Dr. David Crass, HPD Division Director. “The CLG program is one of our most important tools in promoting economic development focused on local historic resources. The communities participating in the program have taken the initiative to work to protect the historic resources that make their respective cities, or counties, truly special.”
This year’s grant recipients are:
- City of Avondale Estates — $10,200 — Design guidelines for the Avondale Estates Historic District
- City of Brunswick — $13,200 — Design guidelines for the Old Town Historic District
- City of Hawkinsville — $6,705 — Phase 1 of a historic resources survey
- City of Richmond Hill — $18,000 —Design guidelines and local designation report for the Ford Avenue commercial district
- City of Savannah— $6,800 — Completion of the Cuyler-Brownville neighborhood historic resource survey
- City of Valdosta— $13,500 — Updated historic resource survey
- City of Washington— $7,200 — Moisture mitigation for Callaway Plantation
- Dade County — $15,000 — Phase 1 of a historic resources survey
- Jones County — $6,311 — Phase 1 of a historic resources survey
The grants are part of a matching program where the federal government provides 60% of the funding and local sources provide the other 40%. The federal funding is pulled from the Historic Preservation Fund of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Park Service. Any of Georgia’s 99 Certified Local Governments (CLGs) are eligible to participate in the program. The CLG designation is attained by municipalities that have passed preservation ordinances and established a historic preservation commission.
The funds can be used for a wide variety of purposes, demonstrated by several historic resource surveys on this year’s list, followed by moisture mitigation. They may also be used for archaeological surveys, design guidelines, educational/promotional/tourism activities, and publications.
Last year’s recipients included roof repair for the Royal Theater in the City of Hogansville. Projects like that may be the ultimate outcome of some of these historic resource surveys from this year. As cities in parts of rural Georgia look to attract businesses and other growth, knowing all the historic assets that may be available to fully promote their city is an important part of the strategy. These can be incorporated into branding and marketing programs, and also help existing residents connect more deeply with their cities which can also help fuel long-run growth.
