icon Blueprint for October

History Feels Good

By
3 min read

I walked outside the Santa Lucia train station in Venice, boarded the vaparetto (or water bus) down the Grand Canal and found myself surrounded by palaces and churches, some five and six centuries old. Suddenly transported into hundreds of years of history, the short-term view no longer seemed as significant nor as inspiring as the long-term perspective. Yesterday’s presidential tweets and this quarter’s financials, which dominate conversations back home, faded. Instead of being frustrated by the present, I was haunted by the past. And it felt calming. It restored something of value we seem to have lost in an America now driven by the pace of an internet and the false urgency of 24-hour news channels: patience. Speed agitates, but history soothes.

I had not anticipated this when planning my vacation, but it was opportune timing to be in Venice just prior to editing our October issue, our annual look at historic preservation in our country. The stark presence of history in our cities and towns is not just a practical advantage, it is a visceral exigency. It’s a balm for the strains of day to day life. Like beautiful music or a striking stage set, it alters the mood. The majority of what most of us want to do through both our work and our relationships is improve lives and make people feel good. And history feels good.

In these pages, we explore the process of historic preservation. Bill MacRostie, a historic consultant with an impressive roster of beautiful projects, discusses what distinguishes a viable candidate for preservation (Getting Credit). Our Talking Head this month is Chris Hite of Sugar Creek Capital, who walks you through the maze of the variety of historic credits available from states. And our insightful guru, David A. Smith, devotes his column to a comparison of the requirements and results of the Low Income Housing and Historical Tax Credits. The three stories together are a practical guide for anyone considering a historic project of their own.

The Maumee River in Ohio may not be comparable to Venice’s Grand Canal, but, as you can see on our cover, its mood has been significantly altered for the better by the innovative restoration of the former steam plant in Toledo into the eye-catching headquarters of the healthcare provider, ProMedia (Toledo Revitalization Gathers Steam). With this story, we are privileged to welcome former National Mortgage News editor and accomplished journalist Mark Fogarty to our writing team.

In other sections this month, Holly Wiedemann of the development company AU Associates recounts her experience of converting a feisty community of affordable housing resistors in a small town in Kentucky into advocates (NIMBY Namby Pamby). Emily McDonald of the National Council on Aging shares the organization’s Aging Mastery program, which focuses on Learning to Live Later Life. And NH&RA Executive Director Thom Amdur devotes his monthly column to what our industry can do to help restore communities damaged by hurricanes, fires and other unfortunate events.

And, finally, beginning on page 18, you will meet this year’s NH&RA Affordable Housing Vision Award honorees: Pam Goodman of Beacon Communities and Chrystal Kornegay of the Mssachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. Well-deserved and we congratulate both.

You may not get to Venice, but you don’t have to in order to benefit from and relish the glory of historic preservation. Just walk outside and look around. It’s all over our country thanks largely to the Historic Tax Credit.

Marty Bell
Editor