Heritage Ohio

This Old House Magazine Recognizes Wellington

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:28:40 +0000

Wellington has been recognized by This Old House Magazine as having one of the Best Old House Neighborhoods 2010 in the country. The folks at Main Street Wellington certainly deserve to be commended for their contribution to their community and making such recognition possible.

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A Different Approach to Downtown Parking

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:12:58 +0000

Main Street Newnan, Georgia is rewarding downtown employees that park in public lots thereby freeing up the best parking spaces for customers and visitors. Maybe an incentive approach might finally help address this perpetual Main Street problem.

http://www.times-herald.com/local/You-may-get-a-treat-from-Main-Street-if-you-park-in-downtown-parking-lots–10092

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Rehabilitation Tax Credit for historic schools introduced

Frank Quinn — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:00:27 +0000

Representatives in both the Senate and House have introduced legislation to amend the federal tax credit, allowing Qualified Rehabilitation Expenses incurred in the rehabilitation of historic schools to be eligible for the 20% rehab tax credit. For example, if this legislation is passed and signed into law by President Obama, a $5 million rehab project of a historic school building in Ohio would only cost the school district and taxpayers $4 million. What would the effect be in Ohio, if this legislation is passed?

The preservation and continued use of more historic schools in the state
With 20% tax credit eligibility, school rehabilitation projects would be put on a more competitive footing with new construction projects, demonstrating a much better economic value for the taxpayers in the school district
School rehabilitation (as opposed to new construction) is a more labor intensive practice, and $1 million spent to rehabilitate schools creates more jobs than $1 million spent to construct new schools
School rehabilitation demonstrates a school district’s conviction to invest in and maintain its most valuable assets, as opposed to wasting its existing assets by demolishing them
School rehabilitation shows a school district’s savvy in understanding & teaching its students that green practices extend far beyond placing recycling bins in the school cafeteria (indeed, preserving historic schools demonstrates perhaps the ultimate level of environmental responsibility)

Accountants Novogradac & Company LLP maintain a web site you can access to keep up-to-date on the latest legislation involving a host of different tax credit incentives that affect historic buildings. You can access their tax credit information here.

A brief fact sheet outlining the need and reasoning behind amending current tax legislation is included here.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on the status of this legislation as we learn more.

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America in Bloom: Planting Pride (and an Athens conference note!)

Frank Quinn — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:54 +0000

Do you want to make your community a better place to live, work, play, and visit, while increasing civic pride and property values? If so, then you need to check out America in Bloom.

A nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting beautification programs through the use of flowers, plants, and trees (in addition to other environmental & lifestyle enhancements) while also encouraging community involvement, AIB recently announced its February 28 registration deadline to participate in the 2010 community program.

Participating communities receive a two-day consultation with judges. The judges develop an extensive written evaluation providing feedback on the community’s successful efforts, and suggestions for further initiatives. To date, America in Bloom has assisted more than 170 communities in 38 states to bring out the best in their visual qualities. In some towns, the annual America in Bloom competition has become a way of life, as volunteers look forward to working together on visible improvements.

Contest Chairman Jack Clasen, PhD, summed it up best when he said, “I’m excited about the 2010 program because we have assembled the best team of experienced, professional judges in the history of the program.”

For more information about the program, or to register before the February 28 deadline, go to http://www.americainbloom.org/. Good luck to all of the participating communities, and may the greenest, most beautiful communities win!

Special Conference Note:
We’re also pleased to let you know that Rick Webb of Logan, Ohio will be presenting “America in Bloom: Planting Pride in your community” at the Heritage Ohio conference in Athens this June. Rick will share the process of becoming an America in Bloom community, touching on AIB’s impact in cities throughout the country & how the America in Bloom program and Heritage Ohio work together to enhance those cities. Stay tuned to our web site and blog for further conference updates!

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Check Out Chattan Loch

Jeff Siegler — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:56:18 +0000

The restaurant recently opened in downtown Bellefontaine in a renovated warehouse. The liquor license was possible through the new revitalization district liquor permit legislation. The restaurant’s owner is committed to community involvement, environmental protection, purchasing local and employing and training the developmentally disable. This is a great success story and embodies so much of the spirit and thinking that Ohio cities and towns must embrace. Check out the story in the Columbus Dispatch http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/01/15/GOODHELP.ART_ART_01-15-10_B1_I6GABIK.html

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Heritage Ohio Recieves USDA ARRA Funding

Joyce Barrett — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:25:52 +0000

Heritage Ohio is happy to announce that we have received a $99,000 grant from the USDA to provide technical assistance to business people in targeted rural communities. Our program “Retail is Detail” provides market analysis and individual business recommendations to participants to fine-tune their strategy for succeeding in bringing more more jobs and business to Ohio’s rural communities.

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Green Historic Preservation Symposium

Joyce Barrett — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:14:28 +0000

Yesterday in Indianapolis I attended a symposium sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA Region 5) entitled “Green Historic Preservation Symposium: What Works, What Doesn’t, What Should Change” What I learned was that the “green-sustainability” constituency from the professional environmental sector knows little about historic preservation and the historic preservation community knows little about the environmental sector – a generality to be sure, but the two groups are finding how working together would be very advantageous. Hopefully the Department of Energy (DOE) people will be brought into the mix too.

A few things I learned yesterday:

1) As of April 22, 2010 any renovation or painting to a house built before 1978 will require that hired contractors must be certified to deal with lead-based paint. http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm

2) I had seen Energy Star ratings on appliances in the store but didn’t fully understand the scope of the Energy Star program, visit http://www.energystar.gov/

3) There are Energy Efficiency Block Grants through DOE which perhaps have been focused towards industry- but could be used for larger commercial buildings (theaters come to mind) http://www.eecbg.energy.gov/grantalloc.html

4) A database to be researching before starting any building improvement or rehabilitation project shows a multitude of programs being offered in Ohio http://www.dsireusa.org/

5) I think a lot of us talk about embodied energy- but remember we have access to a calculator—share this tool with the uninitiated. http://thegreenestbuilding.org

Keep spreading the word- the greenest building is the one already built!

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Main Street 101 in 2010

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:59:29 +0000

Click through to get the upcoming dates for our Main Street 101 Trainings. Learn the basics of downtown revitalization for traditional commercial districts using the proven Main Street Four-Point Approach. Upcoming dates:

March 17, 2010 in Lebanon (download the registration form here)
July 14, 2010 in Canton (download the registration form here)
September 29, 2010 in Findlay (stay tuned for more info!)
Decemeber 1, 2010 in Jackson (download the registration form here)

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Tax Credit Workshop, March 19, 2010 – Mount Vernon

Joyce Barrett — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:51:20 +0000

Register for our next Tax Credit workshop to be held in Mount Vernon March 19, 2010. Learn from Ohio’s experts on utilizing tax credits to make your historic building project a reality.

Download the registration form here.

Knox County Courthouse

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Save the Date: Building Buy Local Campaigns That Work! – March 23, 2010

admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:59:38 +0000

Join us on March 23, 2010 in Medina for Building Buy Local Campaigns That Work! Presenter Jeff Milchen, co-founder of the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), will pack a decade of experience designing campaigns for communities nationwide into a one-day intensive workshop to help you launch or dramatically improve your local outreach efforts.

Download the Medina training registration form here.