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An Evaluation of Historic Preservation Revolving Loan Funds, and Recommendations for the Establishment of Future Programs

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An Evaluation of Historic Preservation Revolving Loan Funds, and Recommendations for the Establishment of Future Programs University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Theses (Historic Preservation) Graduate Program in Historic Preservation 2011 An Evaluation of Historic Preservation Revolving Loan Funds, and Recommendations for the Establishment of Future Programs Olivia Mitchell University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Mitchell, Olivia, "An Evaluation of Historic Preservation Revolving Loan Funds, and Recommendations for the Establishment of Future Programs" (2011). Theses (Historic Preservation). 165. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/165 Suggested Citation: Mitchell, Olivia. (2011). An Evaluation of Historic Preservation Revolving Loan Funds, and Recommendations for the Establishment of Future Programs. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/165 For more information, please contact [email protected]. An Evaluation of Historic Preservation Revolving Loan Funds, and Recommendations for the Establishment of Future Programs Abstract The historic preservation revolving loan fund has been a very valuable, albeit largely overlooked, incentive for historic preservation. This thesis explores establishments and structures, as well as the successes and failures of a majority of the revolving loan funds throughout the country. Whether they are nonprofit organizations or governmental entities, the programs’ structural differences are many, but the program administrators’ differences in experience and opinion are few. This thesis attempts to provide an otherwise previously unpublished guide to historic preservation revolving loan funds in the United States—their management structures, their operation, their successes and their failures, and to deliver a recommendation to those organizations that wish to establish a revolving loan fund of their own. Disciplines Historic Preservation and Conservation Comments Suggested Citation: Mitchell, Olivia. (2011). An Evaluation of Historic Preservation Revolving Loan Funds, and Recommendations for the Establishment of Future Programs. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/165 AN EVALUATION OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FUTURE PROGRAMS Olivia Mitchell A THESIS in Historic Preservation Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION 2011 _____________________ Advisor David Hollenberg Lecturer in Historic Preservation _____________________ Program Chair Randall F. Mason Associate Professor Dedication For WWB, who did not complain about vicariously enduring an additional five years of school—I could not have done it without you. ii Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to thank the loan fund administrators who gave me their time and were endlessly patient while I inundated them with questions: Lane Ittleson, Elizabeth Barker, Josh Rogers, Mark Dollase, Ashley Hahn, Karen Ansis, Michael Sriprasert, Arthur Ziegler Jr., Treacy Sayres, Mindy Crawford, Clark Schoettle, Elizabeth Bradley-Wilson, Mary Jo Nelson, Dave Johnson, Anne Raines, Richard Brand, Dorothy Guzzo, Dorothy Victor, John Hinnant, and Mike Martin. Thank you all so much for everything. This thesis would not exist without all of you, and your tireless efforts on behalf of historic preservation. Thank you to April Wood at Historic Charleston Foundation for helping me find an idea that I not only came to love, but which also allowed me to be helpful. Thank you to my thesis advisor David Hollenberg for all his advice and support over the course of the year. Your encouragement was invaluable. And finally, to my family for all your love and support throughout my educational journey—we did it! iii Table of Contents Dedication……………………………………………………………………………….. ii Acknowledgments ……………………………………………………………………... iii Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………. iv Chapter One: Introduction…………………………………………………………….. 1 Chapter Two: Terminology …………………………………………………………… 7 Chapter Three: Literature Review…………………………………………………… 15 Chapter Four: Methodology………………………………………………………….. 26 Chapter Five: Background…………………………………………………………… 29 Chapter Six: Case Study Introduction & Non-profit Organization Case Studies…………………………………………….. 40 6.1 CHF Revolving Loan Fund…………………………………………………..44 6.2 Historic Columbus Foundation……………………………………………... 50 6.3 Historic Macon Foundation………………………………………………… 55 6.4 Indiana Landmarks………………………………………………………….. 61 6.5 Historic Properties Fund Inc., New York Landmarks Conservancy……….. 67 6.6 Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation………………………………. 74 6.7 Preservation League of New York State……………………………………. 79 6.8 Preservation Pennsylvania………………………………………………….. 85 6.9 Providence Revolving Fund………………………………………………… 90 6.10 Utah Heritage Foundation…………………………………………………. 97 iv Chapter Seven: Government Entity Case Studies 7.1 City of Deadwood, SD Historic Preservation Commission……………….. 103 7.2 City of Dubuque, IA Historic Preservation Commission…………………. 110 7.3 Maryland Historical Trust…………………………………………………. 115 7.4 New Jersey Historic Trust…………………………………………………. 121 7.5 New Mexico Historic Preservation Division……………………………… 125 Chapter Eight: Analysis and Recommendation……………………………………. 132 8.1 Establishment of the Loan Fund…………………………………………... 134 8.2 Building Eligibility………………………………………………………... 139 8.3 Project Eligibility………………………………………………………...... 143 8.4 Loan Fund Structure………………………………………………………. 154 8.5 Loan Fund Operation……………………………………………………… 161 8.6 Loan Fund Success………………………………………………………... 163 Chapter Nine: Conclusion…………………………………………………………… 167 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….. 170 Appendix A: Questionnaire…………………………………………………………. 179 Appendix B: Establishment & Structure Matrix…………………………………... 181 Appendix C: Eligibility Matrix……………………………………………………… 182 Appendix D: Success Matrix………………………………………………………… 183 Appendix E: Contact Information………………………………………………….. 184 Index…………………………………………………………………………………... 185 v Chapter One: Introduction Historic preservation is not the field that it once was. The preservation of early generations, that of historic house museums and stories of “George Washington Slept Here,” is quickly becoming a distant memory. Historic preservation has moved out from behind the curtains and more organizations are getting involved in the redevelopment and revitalization of historic communities. The two fields of historic preservation and real estate development, often considered by some to be completely unrelated, are increasingly merging in several different arenas related to neighborhood revitalization. These communities are not Colonial Williamsburg, but rather they are the communities of our neighbors, made up of historic houses and modern families. If once the primary mission of the historic preservation movement was to “save,” today it is to “reuse.” As Americans move back to our cities from the once dominant suburbs, the work of local preservation groups becomes of the utmost importance, and their work is twofold: advocacy and assistance. Simply advocating for the protection of historic buildings and historic districts is not enough. Preservation entities have seen much success in providing economic incentives that not only make preservation possible, but that make it attractive—the historic preservation revolving loan fund is one of these incentives. Differing from the revolving fund or acquisition fund, revolving loan funds are used to loan money to individuals, small businesses, non-profits, and municipalities to support the design and construction of rehabilitation work on historic buildings. Often overlooked, the historic preservation revolving loan fund is a tool that directly addresses the aforementioned goals of today’s preservation movement. 1 Originated in the 1950s by the Historic Charleston Foundation in Charleston, South Carolina, revolving funds or acquisition funds have been extremely popular and have yielded positive results in cities like Savannah, Georgia, Boston, Massachusetts, and Galveston, Texas. A revolving fund or acquisition fund is used by a preservation organization to purchase, stabilize and/or rehabilitate, and then resell historic properties to preservation-minded buyers, subject to easements or protective covenants. The fund is defined as revolving because the monies earned from the sale of the historic property go back into the fund to be used for future acquisitions and rehabilitations. In this thesis, these programs will be referred to as acquisition funds, and these acquisition funds differ from revolving loan funds. In the 1970s, organizations such as Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation and the Providence Revolving Fund realized the benefits of offering loans to those organizations, businesses, and individuals who were interested in renovating an historic property or revitalizing their community through initiatives that included reusing their historic resources—and so, the revolving loan fund was born. In a revolving loan fund, as that term is used in this thesis, a preservation organization or community development corporation provides loans to individuals, small businesses, non-profits, or government entities for the rehabilitation of an old or historic
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