On Friday, June 24, Preservation Ohio and the Champaign County Preservation Alliance co-hosted “Tools & Strategies to Create Vibrant Historic Neighborhoods” in beautiful Urbana.
The event, which featured speakers talking about lessons learned from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana, attracted a cross-section of Ohioans involved in local preservation. Communities represented included Mansfield, Cleveland, Dayton, Troy, Urbana, Galion, Richwood, Warren, Bowling Green, Mechanicsburg, and others.
Speakers included Mark Dollase, Vice President of Indiana Landmarks; John Bry, Local Business Development and Program Coordinator with Oakland County (Michigan) Main Streets and formerly of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center; and Thomas Palmer, Executive Director of Preservation Ohio.
Topics discussed included real estate tools for preservation projects, neighborhood revitalization models including Pennsylvania’s Elm Street Program, the newly expanded Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, receivership, options, and examples of successful local efforts to revitalize houses, buildings, neighborhoods, and downtowns.
The event also included the official launch of Preservation Ohio’s new online Resource Center for Small to Mid-Sized Preservation Projects.
Photos from the event are featured below. Click twice on any photo below for a full-size version.
Preservation Ohio will be “taking the show on the road” this summer and fall – more about that in a couple of days here on MyHometownOhio.