I've seen several houses being renovated in this area, just wondering if anyone has heard of any major revitalization projects as our group has concidered some smaller scale projects in that neighborhood.
Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb Historic District
Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb Historic District
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St. Louis' Community Development Administration (CDA) received word from the State that the "Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb Historic District" was posted on the federal register this week. After a 15 day comment period, it should be listed. Official word on listing should come in the first week of March.
The proposed "Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb H.D." is an area roughly bounded by Gravois, Jefferson, Meramec and South Grand.
http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/pla ... avois.html
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The proposed "Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb H.D." is an area roughly bounded by Gravois, Jefferson, Meramec and South Grand.
http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/pla ... avois.html
I'm glad to hear this. I'm anxious for it to be designated an historic district and for the rehabbing to begin. I moved into Benton Park West neighborhood last summer. My block is full of boarded up buildings, which are scheduled to be rehabbed. I can't wait to see the end results.
- 10K
This should really help out development in some of the south side neighborhoods that are on the cusp of greatness:
St. Louis expects to learn as soon as this month if a collection of South Side neighborhoods - known as the Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb Historic District - will be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Workers in downtown St. Louis moved to the area in the early 1900s and commuted by streetcar. The area is distinctive because of intricate masonry and its cultural significance as one of the city's early suburbs, said Jan Cameron, preservation administrator for the Office of Cultural Resources.
Designating older parts of the city as historic districts isn't new. St. Louis already has several. But Gravois-Jefferson would be the largest, encompassing dozens of blocks and more than 6,000 homes, schools and churches. The effort, which began more than five years ago, underscores a growing trend of larger areas within cities, farmland, even some entire towns, that seek listing on the national register.
Other historic districts in St. Louis include the Anheuser-Busch brewery, which includes 189 structures, and the Washington Avenue Historic District. For now, the largest historic area in Missouri, measured by number of buildings, is the Benton Park District between Gravois, Interstate 55, South Broadway and Jefferson.
"We continue to get quite a number" of large districts applying for federal historic designation, said Carol Schull, keeper of the National Register in Washington. "They give many towns their real sense of character and identity."
Perhaps more important than the cachet of earning a place on the nation's 39-year-old record of historically significant places, a spot on the list enables developers to qualify for state and federal tax credits that can help combat sprawl and breathe new life into older, decaying parts of the city.
A 20 percent federal tax credit for restoration of historic properties has been available since the late 1970s, and Missouri became one of the first states to offer a 25 percent tax credit in 1998. Both have been vital to renovation of parts of downtown St. Louis, particularly the conversion of older, crumbling warehouses into lofts and hotels, city officials said. Tax credits also have benefited area construction companies hired to do the restoration work.
A study by the Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University in 2002 showed that $25 million a year in state tax credits for historic preservation helped stimulate $346 million of investment in the rehabilitation of historic buildings.
Missouri led all states in the number of federal tax credit projects completed in the U.S. government's 2004 fiscal year, according to the state Historic Preservation Office. And St. Louis led in the number of federal tax credit applications submitted, said Rollin Stanley, the city's director of planning and urban design.
Officials with the city's Cultural Resources Office hope that listing wider areas of the city, such as the Gravois-Jefferson district, will continue and perhaps accelerate rehabilitation of the city's inner core.
There are more than 79,000 listings across the nation on the National Register, encompassing 1.3 million properties, Schull said. About 1,500 new listings are added each year. In Missouri, interest in listing property on the National Register - as measured by the number of places added each year - has risen and fallen since the federal law creating the register was approved in 1966.
National Register applications can range from 12-page reports prepared by individual property owners to 1,000-page tomes hired out to professional firms. The bottom line is that the application must convince a state review board and the National Parks Service of the historical significance.
The complexity depends on variables such as the property's size and the documentation required to prove its historic significance, said Tiffany Patterson, who helps review nominations at the state's Historic Preservation Office in Jefferson City. For instance, it can take years to survey and photograph houses, garages, schools, churches and other structures in large districts, such as Gravois-Jefferson, as well as to research building permits and owners and study the architecture.
"There has to be a case for it to be historically significant, but there's a lot of leeway," Patterson said. What might be considered historic by one person may not be by another. Patterson, who previously worked in Louisiana, said the view of some in that state was "if it wasn't antebellum, it wasn't worth looking at."
There is now an effort by the Parks Service to help states identify sites related to themes, such as the automobile and suburbs, that may not stand out as historically significant.
For instance, "there's an increasing interest in what people would term modern architecture," Schull said. "History never stops."
St. Louis expects to learn as soon as this month if a collection of South Side neighborhoods - known as the Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb Historic District - will be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Workers in downtown St. Louis moved to the area in the early 1900s and commuted by streetcar. The area is distinctive because of intricate masonry and its cultural significance as one of the city's early suburbs, said Jan Cameron, preservation administrator for the Office of Cultural Resources.
Designating older parts of the city as historic districts isn't new. St. Louis already has several. But Gravois-Jefferson would be the largest, encompassing dozens of blocks and more than 6,000 homes, schools and churches. The effort, which began more than five years ago, underscores a growing trend of larger areas within cities, farmland, even some entire towns, that seek listing on the national register.
Other historic districts in St. Louis include the Anheuser-Busch brewery, which includes 189 structures, and the Washington Avenue Historic District. For now, the largest historic area in Missouri, measured by number of buildings, is the Benton Park District between Gravois, Interstate 55, South Broadway and Jefferson.
"We continue to get quite a number" of large districts applying for federal historic designation, said Carol Schull, keeper of the National Register in Washington. "They give many towns their real sense of character and identity."
Perhaps more important than the cachet of earning a place on the nation's 39-year-old record of historically significant places, a spot on the list enables developers to qualify for state and federal tax credits that can help combat sprawl and breathe new life into older, decaying parts of the city.
A 20 percent federal tax credit for restoration of historic properties has been available since the late 1970s, and Missouri became one of the first states to offer a 25 percent tax credit in 1998. Both have been vital to renovation of parts of downtown St. Louis, particularly the conversion of older, crumbling warehouses into lofts and hotels, city officials said. Tax credits also have benefited area construction companies hired to do the restoration work.
A study by the Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University in 2002 showed that $25 million a year in state tax credits for historic preservation helped stimulate $346 million of investment in the rehabilitation of historic buildings.
Missouri led all states in the number of federal tax credit projects completed in the U.S. government's 2004 fiscal year, according to the state Historic Preservation Office. And St. Louis led in the number of federal tax credit applications submitted, said Rollin Stanley, the city's director of planning and urban design.
Officials with the city's Cultural Resources Office hope that listing wider areas of the city, such as the Gravois-Jefferson district, will continue and perhaps accelerate rehabilitation of the city's inner core.
There are more than 79,000 listings across the nation on the National Register, encompassing 1.3 million properties, Schull said. About 1,500 new listings are added each year. In Missouri, interest in listing property on the National Register - as measured by the number of places added each year - has risen and fallen since the federal law creating the register was approved in 1966.
National Register applications can range from 12-page reports prepared by individual property owners to 1,000-page tomes hired out to professional firms. The bottom line is that the application must convince a state review board and the National Parks Service of the historical significance.
The complexity depends on variables such as the property's size and the documentation required to prove its historic significance, said Tiffany Patterson, who helps review nominations at the state's Historic Preservation Office in Jefferson City. For instance, it can take years to survey and photograph houses, garages, schools, churches and other structures in large districts, such as Gravois-Jefferson, as well as to research building permits and owners and study the architecture.
"There has to be a case for it to be historically significant, but there's a lot of leeway," Patterson said. What might be considered historic by one person may not be by another. Patterson, who previously worked in Louisiana, said the view of some in that state was "if it wasn't antebellum, it wasn't worth looking at."
There is now an effort by the Parks Service to help states identify sites related to themes, such as the automobile and suburbs, that may not stand out as historically significant.
For instance, "there's an increasing interest in what people would term modern architecture," Schull said. "History never stops."
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Here is some more information dated October 25, 2004 from the City of St. Louis Preservation Board regarding the nomination to the National Register for the Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb Historic District. It is a seven page PDF document that contains photos and background of the area being nominated...
http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/pla ... s_jeff.pdf
http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/pla ... s_jeff.pdf
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<A HREF="http://www.thehealthyplanet.com/june05_city.htm">City Scene: June 2005, The Healthy Planet</A>
by Steve Patterson
This month I want to introduce you to an exciting area quickly becoming a hot spot of activity: The proposed Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb National Historic District. This soon to be official historic district is as big as its name ? one of the largest in the city.
<A HREF="http://www.thehealthyplanet.com/june05_city.htm">>>> read more</A>
by Steve Patterson
This month I want to introduce you to an exciting area quickly becoming a hot spot of activity: The proposed Gravois-Jefferson Streetcar Suburb National Historic District. This soon to be official historic district is as big as its name ? one of the largest in the city.
<A HREF="http://www.thehealthyplanet.com/june05_city.htm">>>> read more</A>
Major bump... Does anyone know if this historic district is still in existence. The links on the city's website go no where and I can't seem to find any info about tax credits for this area anymore.
- 11K
Yes, it's the largest national register of historic places district in the state.
All PDFs...
List of contributing properties:
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/docs/Gravois-Jeff_w_AD.pdf
The National Register registration form:
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/05000115.pdf
District map:
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/docs/GravoisJeff.pdf
All PDFs...
List of contributing properties:
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/docs/Gravois-Jeff_w_AD.pdf
The National Register registration form:
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/05000115.pdf
District map:
http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/docs/GravoisJeff.pdf