Historic Preservation
Planning
Historic Preservation
Our Region, like all others, has a history. Much of that history is reflected in the relics of the past that still exist today – our architecture, our landmarks, our places, and our culture. Historic Preservation is a means to safeguard those relics, learn about them, catalogue them, and transmit our understanding of the past to future generations.
Department Duties
The RVRC’s Historic Preservation department works with local governments and federal and state entities in a number of ways to help preserve the region’s historical resources. Some of these include grant writing, technical assistance, surveying, and consultation just to name a few. Click the links below to learn more.
Historic Preservation in the
River Valley Region
Click the buttons below to visit or expand.
The Georgia Heritage Grant Program, administered through the Historic Preservation Division (HPD), has provided seed money for the preservation of historic properties and archaeological sites throughout the state since the 1994 Legislative Session when the Georgia General Assembly initiated appropriations for grant funding for the preservation of historic properties in Georgia.
RVRC assists local governments with sourcing applicable projects for the program as well as writing and administering the Heritage grants.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program through the Department of the Interior of National Park Services to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
Local governments can request assistance from the RVRC for help identifying potential candidates for the National Register of Historic Places.
Property owners whose buildings receive designations as Historic Sites through the National Register of Historic Places are eligible for tax credits to rehabilitate or renovate their properties. RVRC Historic Planners can assist with navigating the process for receiving these credits, including providing access to forms, information about applying, and web links to tutorials and other information.
Please reach out if you think you have a Historic Site and need help accessing assistance for rehabilitation or renovation of the site.
Helping to guide Historic Preservation in the River Valley is the Regional Historic Preservation Advisory Committee (RHPAC), which the RVRC helps coordinate. The RHPAC is a network of individuals from the region who meet periodically to discuss historic preservation efforts and share information about grants and other resources. The committee has at least one representative from each of the 16 counties and 35 communities in the region.
While not every historic property or site is eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is important that communities inventory their historic assets through Historic Resource Surveying. RVRC assists communities with surveying their places to create a comprehensive catalogue of historic assets. Local governments are then able to keep this data for future use, and the information is stored on a GNAHRGIS database.
Sometimes, historic property owners wish to make changes to their historic sites. This can present challenges, especially when those changes fall out of line with the historic nature of the property. Fortunately, many communities have Historic Preservation Committees (HPC) that help site owners maintain historic integrity when changes occur.
RVRC assists HPCs on a case-by-case basis to help understand the historic nature of the site and provide ordinance-based analyses for defensible records of each case. Communities without HPCs should strongly consider organizing one to ensure the protection of valuable historic assets as well as gain access to historic preservation funding.
Many older and historic downtowns face a myriad of issues concerning structural deterioration and tourism. Main Street America is a program created through the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1980 as a way to address these issues. Working with a nationwide network of coordinating programs and local communities, Main Street has helped over 2,000 communities across the country bring economic vitality back downtown, while celebrating their historic character, and bringing communities together.
RVRC assists communities in the region with receiving Main Street Designation through the Main Street America Program, which helps communities’ downtowns become gathering places, historic destinations, business centers, innovation incubators, and more.
An Urban Redevelopment Plan is a legal document that outlines a process and a basic framework within which specific redevelopment projects and/or programs that will be undertaken by the redevelopment agency over the period of time the plan is effective.
Essentially, it is a master plan to identify stakeholders and SWOT, as well as implementation measures for achieve stated vision.
Communities in the River Valley interested in undertaking redevelopment for their urban areas should contact the RVRC for more information or technical assistance with completing the plan.
Historic Preservation in the
River Valley Region
Click the buttons below to visit or expand.
The Georgia Heritage Grant Program, administered through the Historic Preservation Division (HPD), has provided seed money for the preservation of historic properties and archaeological sites throughout the state since the 1994 Legislative Session when the Georgia General Assembly initiated appropriations for grant funding for the preservation of historic properties in Georgia.
RVRC assists local governments with sourcing applicable projects for the program as well as writing and administering the Heritage grants.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program through the Department of the Interior of National Park Services to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
Local governments can request assistance from the RVRC for help identifying potential candidates for the National Register of Historic Places.
Property owners whose buildings receive designations as Historic Sites through the National Register of Historic Places are eligible for tax credits to rehabilitate or renovate their properties. RVRC Historic Planners can assist with navigating the process for receiving these credits, including providing access to forms, information about applying, and web links to tutorials and other information.
Please reach out if you think you have a Historic Site and need help accessing assistance for rehabilitation or renovation of the site.
Helping to guide Historic Preservation in the River Valley is the Regional Historic Preservation Advisory Committee (RHPAC), which the RVRC helps coordinate. The RHPAC is a network of individuals from the region who meet periodically to discuss historic preservation efforts and share information about grants and other resources. The committee has at least one representative from each of the 16 counties and 35 communities in the region.
While not every historic property or site is eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is important that communities inventory their historic assets through Historic Resource Surveying. RVRC assists communities with surveying their places to create a comprehensive catalogue of historic assets. Local governments are then able to keep this data for future use, and the information is stored on a GNAHRGIS database.
Many older and historic downtowns face a myriad of issues concerning structural deterioration and tourism. Main Street America is a program created through the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1980 as a way to address these issues. Working with a nationwide network of coordinating programs and local communities, Main Street has helped over 2,000 communities across the country bring economic vitality back downtown, while celebrating their historic character, and bringing communities together.
RVRC assists communities in the region with receiving Main Street Designation through the Main Street America Program, which helps communities’ downtowns become gathering places, historic destinations, business centers, innovation incubators, and more.
Sometimes, historic property owners wish to make changes to their historic sites. This can present challenges, especially when those changes fall out of line with the historic nature of the property. Fortunately, many communities have Historic Preservation Committees (HPC) that help site owners maintain historic integrity when changes occur.
RVRC assists HPCs on a case-by-case basis to help understand the historic nature of the site and provide ordinance-based analyses for defensible records of each case. Communities without HPCs should strongly consider organizing one to ensure the protection of valuable historic assets as well as gain access to historic preservation funding.
An Urban Redevelopment Plan is a legal document that outlines a process and a basic framework within which specific redevelopment projects and/or programs that will be undertaken by the redevelopment agency over the period of time the plan is effective.
Essentially, it is a master plan to identify stakeholders and SWOT, as well as implementation measures for achieve stated vision.
Communities in the River Valley interested in undertaking redevelopment for their urban areas should contact the RVRC for more information or technical assistance with completing the plan.