The National Trust for Historic Preservation, in partnership with Preservation Texas and the Texas Downtown Association, just released an economic impact report on the use of the federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credits. Since 2002, a whopping $1.1 billion dollar investment has been made in historic buildings in Texas which have taken advantage of the credits. There have been a total of 126 projects in Texas in that time frame.  Through those projects over 9,700 permanent jobs were created. 

The report features case studies of projects all across the state with two projects from Dallas, the Belmont Hotel and the LTV Tower. Dallas has long been a leader in the state of Texas when it comes to credits

Click  here to download a copy of the report. Preservation Dallas, the Texas Historical Commission and others assisted with the preparation of the report. 

DART D2 - This week DART held a stakeholder meeting to discuss the new plans for D2 to go underground in a subway system. They said that the DART board has committed to funding the project with a total budget of $1.3 billion, which includes a Federal Transit Authority grant. To view the PowerPoint shown at the meeting click here. At the meeting those present were asked to vote on priorities for locating the subway alignment and potential routes for the subway. DART would like to chose a LPA or locally preferred alternative for the route by next spring in order to keep the project moving. The stakeholders will continue to meet to help develop the options for the LPA. To read more about the project or to sign up for updates or meeting notices click here. 

Tenth Street - Another new house was approved for construction in the Tenth Street Historic District on Monday at the Landmark Commission meeting, making three new houses approved this year by the Landmark Commission for the district.

Penson House - A demolition permit  has been applied for the O'Neil Ford designed Penson House at 3756 Armstrong in Highland Park. Preservation  Dallas placed the  house on the Endangered Places  list in September  before  it went to auction due to the fact that in Highland Park there are no regulations  to prevent demolition  or a way to landmark the house as historic . 

I can't believe that 2016 is coming to a close as the year has just flown by! There have been many challenges, loses, and successes throughout the year and I hope that 2017 will bring us more success. This year also marks 20 years for me in the preservation field. I find it incredible that I have been working to save historic places for that long! I have seen and learned a lot in that time, especially on ways to navigate the challenging world of preservation with limited resources, public and political opposition, and developers interested in removing the old for the new. I have also learned the hard lesson that not every historic building can be saved and that even the hardest fought battle can result in an unfortunate loss.When that happens the only option is to pick yourself up and prepare for the next battle as there will ultimately be another one around the corner. I have seen many successes though and especially the value and power the public has to help shape preservation policy and save individual historic places.The public is the most valuable tool there is and even with Preservation Dallas advocating for historic places the public is still needed to come out in support. I don't know what the next 20 years will bring for preservation; however, I do know that I will continue to learn from success and loses to advocate for saving our important past. It will just be weird though to be working to save the buildings from the 1980s and 90s when the time comes!     

I must  also credit the National Trust for Historic Preservation with helping to shape my career and giving me the opportunity to network with people in the preservation field all across the country. I have learned a tremendous amount from both and thoroughly enjoy my time conversing with people in the field and learning about the preservation challenges faced across the country. Many which are very similar to what we face in Dallas. It is nice to know we are not the only ones in the boat! The very first National Trust conference I attended was in Ft. Worth in 1995 and this year I attended my 20th conference in Houston. In fact we had a great contingent from Dallas at the conference this year! 

As everyone prepares for the holiday season I wish you all joyous times with friends and family! I especially want to thank all of you wonderful Preservation Dallas members for your continued support of our work! We can't do it without you and knowing that we have a great support behind us when we tackle preservation issues makes us a stronger organization!  

Saturday and Sunday | December 10 and 11 | 3-9pm

Saturday | January 28 | 8am-12pm

Save the date for the annual Legacies Conference co-sponsored with the Dallas Historical Society, Dallas Heritage Village, Preservation Dallas and others. Registration information to come soon!