DEPARTMENT: Office of Historic Preservation
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Shanon Shea Miller
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Texas Historical Commission (THC) Grant Acceptance
SUMMARY:
This ordinance ratifies the submission of a grant application and authorizes acceptance of funds upon award, not to exceed $10,000, from the Texas Historical Commission (THC) for an updated building inventory and expansion of the San Antonio Downtown and River Walk National Register District.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City seeks to provide incentives for the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of buildings in its historic downtown. Providing incentives to property owners and potential buyers supports economic development and promotes the preservation of our historic building stock.
In an effort to expand the number of properties that are eligible to receive State and Federal Historic Tax Credits (HTC's), OHP launched an initiative in 2015 to increase the number of properties in its Downtown that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The new district includes 172 contributing buildings in addition to structures and objects. The creation of this new district was an important first step in improving accessibility to the HTC's and promoting adaptive reuse and restoration of our historic buildings downtown.
The next phase of this effort requires that existing National Register Districts be re-inventoried and added to the new, larger Downtown District. The existing National Register Districts were some of the first districts created in the state and do not include numerous buildings which would now be considered contributing within the expanded period of significance for Downtown San Antonio. For example, the Main & Military Plaza National Register District was listed in 1979. Resources such as the Clegg Building (1910; 1930) are listed as non-contributing in the nomination. While relatively minor alterations have occurred on the street-facing fa?a...
Click here for full text