How to Save a Building

It’s interesting to work in a field where  most of the people I interact with don’t “work in my field.”  I am constantly being asked to speak about how to save a building or how to research a building for a National Register Nomination, and ultimately why would you do a National Register Nomination.  By no means is this an exhaustive list, it is intended to provide a framework that will allow Heritage Ohio, Ohio Historic Preservation Office, and other organizations better assist you as you try to save a building in your community.
 
Saving a Building 101
I will immediately ask you three things: 1. Who owns the property? 2. What is the significance of the property? 3. What legal steps have been taken?
Who Owns the Property
Is it privately owned or publically owned?  Is the owner willing to work towards saving the property?  Owner consent is vital.  If it is privately owned, the owner must be cooperative or open towards saving the property.  Public ownership is when the city or county have control over a building.
How to find out who owns a property – Many resources are available for free and online to determine ownership of a property or building.  County Auditors websites have searchable databases that provide information on a specific address over time, allowing you to see who currently owns the building as well as any previous owners.  Example:Columbus County Auditor Property Search
What is the significance of the property?
Is it architecturally significant? Connected to a specific person or place in history? Is it part of a broad national context?
How to find out the significance of a property: the National Register database is searchable by county, city, property name, address, as well as many other fields.  This is a quick way to determine if the property already has a National Register Nomination.  Example: Ohio Historic Preservation Office/National Register Searchable Database
What legal steps have been taken?
Has there been a building study?  Have the courts condemned the building?  Is there a demolition date?
Property rights are well protected in America.  National Register properties are not protected from demolition, and ultimately the owner has the final say whether private or publically owned.
From here Heritage Ohio and other historic preservation organizations can help determine the best scenario moving forward.
 
Who to contact?  Local governments may have a design review committee or a preservation coordinator.   Also local cities may have an Ohio Main Street program or Local Preservation Organizations who can help.  At the state level, the Ohio Historic Preservation Office and Heritage Ohio can help guide you in the right direction based on the answers to the above questions.  Finally, at the National Level there is the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
 
Adaptive Reuse
Once the building has been saved (or in many cases just saved from immediate demolition) the next step is finding a viable use.  We call this Adaptive reuse.  Each community needs to evaluate the needs of their community to determine the best fit for not only the building but the area.
As with all business ventures, a business plan is essential.  The idea has to be financially viable today and in the long term.
When searching for an adaptive reuse project, there are three areas to be thinking about:
Initial Purchase/Investment  If publically owned, is it possible to have the property donated?  If privately owned, is the owner open to negotiation on the asking price?  Be prepared for upfront costs associated with assuming ownership of a building.
Keeping the Lights on.  As an organization, you need to be able to keep the lights on in a building for a minimum of 5 years.  What does that electric and heating cost come to?  Are there any administration fees available?
Rehabilitation Costs.  Often times historic buildings need to be brought up to building code around the time of a title change or purchase.  You need to be aware of the cost of upfitting a building even to the base minimum building code.  Also, many times an organization needs to find a developer to take on the project.  There may be significant fees associated with this.
 
Finally, your organization needs a way to pay for these costs and services.  Forming a non-profit is one option.  The benefits of being a 501c3 nonprofit are the ability to accept funding and grant money from public and private sources.  The Ohio Historic Preservation Office has many grants and funds for “bricks and mortar” which refers to actual building and construction expenses, such as fixing a roof or bringing the electrical work up to code.  One program is Ohio’s History Fund.  However, you need to legally be able to accept public funds. If you don’t have any organization willing to help, you will have to become a nonprofit yourself.
While this is only the beginning steps to saving a historic landmark in your community, it provides a strong foundation in order for Heritage Ohio and other historic preservation organizations to assist your project.