Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 29, 1992 TAG: 9203300238
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FREDERICKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The study prepared for the National Trust for Historic Preservation examined property values and other economic indicators in Fredericksburg and Galveston, Texas.
The cities were used as case studies by the national preservation group to put a dollar value on preservation.
In Fredericksburg and Galveston, the numbers appear to contradict claims that historic preservation hurts property values, said Historic Fredericksburg Director Catharine Gilliam. Property owners often complain historic districts and covenants unfairly restrict their rights to change buildings and lower properties' resale value.
In Fredericksburg's downtown historic district, property values rose an average of 674 percent from 1971 to 1990, according to the report. The value of residential property elsewhere in the city rose an average of 410 percent.
Commercial property in the historic district shot up 480 percent, while similar property outside the district rose 281 percent.
Those figures would have been handy during the 1992 General Assembly, when lawmakers voted to weaken some historic preservation laws, Gilliam said. The debate included testimony from developers and property owners angry over restrictions on land around a Northern Virginia Civil War battlefield.
"I think [lawmakers] very quickly bought the rhetoric without the statistics," she said.
The bill's sponsor, Charles Colgan, D-Manassas, said he agrees historic designation can have economic benefits, particularly in residential areas.
"I don't disagree with that and it's not the issue. The issue is whether the landowners agree," to designate an area historic, he said. In the case of the Bristoe Station battlefield in Prince William County, a majority of landowners opposed historic status out of concern it would limit their options to sell or develop the land, he said.
"They were overwhelmingly opposed to it and yet the historic resources people went ahead and did it anyway. It was a case of regulators not listening to the public."
The study, prepared by economists from the Government Finance Officers Association in Washington, will be used as a guide in determining the benefits of historic preservation in cities around the country, Gilliam said.
According to the study, preservation efforts can create jobs. Between 1982 and 1989, the city's historic district saw 777 renovation projects worth $1.2 million. The numbers translate to 283 temporary construction jobs and 284 jobs in sales and manufacturing, according to the study.
Preservation also adds to the local economy by promoting tourism, the study said.
In 1989, tourists purchased $11.7 million from businesses inside Fredericksburg's historic district. Tourists spent $17.4 million outside the district, mostly on motels, restaurants and gasoline near Interstate 95.
by CNB