Historic Preservation 101

Historic Preservation Tall Tales 1.I will be told what color to paint my house. 2.I will have to return it to the way it looked exactly in the year 1800 and something. 3.I will loose some/all my mod cons. 4. Preservation will cost more money. 5. My property will be harder to sell.

Types of Preservation Preservation: places a high premium on the retention of all historic fabric through conservation, maintenance and repair. It reflects a building's continuum over time, through successive occupancies, and the respectful changes and alterations that are made.. Drayton Hall, Charleston, South Carolina

Types of Preservation Rehabilitation: emphasizes the retention and repair of historic materials, but more latitude is provided for replacement because it is assumed the property is more deteriorated prior to work. Guard House, Tybee Island, Georgia

Types of Preservation Restoration: focuses on the retention of materials from the most significant time in a property's history, while permitting the removal of materials from other periods. Exterior Restoration, 2 nd Assistant Keepers Cottage, Tybee Island Light Station

Types of Preservation Reconstruction: establishes limited opportunities to re-create a non- surviving site, landscape, building, structure, or object in all new materials. Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg Virginia

General Preservation on Tybee Island Historic Resources Surveys 2003 – Tybee Island Historic Resources Survey (450 historic resources) National Register Historic Districts Listed 1982– Fort Screven Historic District 1999 – Tybee Island Back River Historic District 1999 – Tybee Island Strand Cottages Historic District 2005 – Raised Tybee Cottage Multiple Property Nomination

Specific Tybee Preservation Projects National Register Individual Listings Listed 2003 – Sea View Apartments 2008 – Mulherin-Righton Raised Tybee Cottage 2008 – J. Herbert and Julia Johnson Raised Tybee Cottage 2008 – Dutton-Waller Raised Tybee Cottage 2008 – Morgan-Ille Cottage 2009 – Rourke-Butler Raised Tybee Cottage 2010 – Carbo House (Classic Tybee Boarding House) 2012 – Wallis Cottage/Beach View Hotel (pending) 2013 – Weil House, th Street (pending) 2014 – Smith Apartments, 8 T.S. Chu Terrace (under review) 2014 – Thomas Family Paired Cottage, Second Avenue (work in progress) 2014 – Tybee Beach Company Cottage, 1105 Jones Avenue (work in progress) 2014 – Raised Tybee Cottage, 1706 Butler Avenue (work in progress)

Tax Credit Projects = in excess of $250,000* in tax credits awarded 2000 – Sea View Apartments (state tax freeze) 2002 – Fort Screven Post Bakery 2004 – Fort Screven Mess Hall/Bldg No – Minis-Minkovitz Raised Tybee Cottage 2005 – J. Herbert and Julia Johnson Raised Tybee Cottage 2006 – Berman Keisker Raised Tybee Cottage 2006 – Dutton-Waller Raised Tybee Cottage 2006 – Morgan–Ille Cottage 2007 – Pearl S. Bowen Boarding House 2008 – Rourke-Butler Raised Tybee Cottage 2012 – Beach View Hotel 2013 – Weil House, th Street 2013 – Goette Cottage, 1517 Chatham Avenue 2014 – Smith Apartments, 8 T.S. Chu Terrace (under review) 2014 – Riverside Lodge, 1511 Chatham Terrace (under review) 2014 – Thompson Family Paired Cottage, Second Avenue (work in progress) 2014 – Tybee Beach Company Cottage, 1105 Jones Avenue (work in progress) 2014 – Raised Tybee Cottage, 1706 Butler Avenue (work in progress) Specific Tybee Preservation Projects

Preservation at its best!

Benefits of Preservation Environmental Benefit On its most basic level, the practice of historic preservation is the practice of conserving resources. Not only do restoration and redevelopment consume less energy than demolition and new construction, but preservation also recovers the worth of past energy investment. Demolition and new construction not only consume present-day energy, but negates and wastes the past energy investment made in a building. Preservation is a remarkably effective method of sustainability. Cultural Benefit Architecture is a direct and substantial representation of history and place. By preserving historic structures, we are able to share the very spaces and environments in which the generations before us lived. Historic preservation is the visual and tangible conservation of cultural identity. Economic Benefit In the past historic preservation has been considered a luxury practice, but in recent years research of the economic and public benefits have revealed that it is a powerful tool in sustaining local economy, creating jobs, and even generating capital. The aesthetic, cultural and historical benefits of preservation are well known, but now, communities are realizing that there are also positive economic effects.

The Next Step Local Districts Local Historic districts do have aesthetic stipulations, but they are not intended to hinder property owners. Bylaws help ensure that the character of the neighborhood remains intact. The stability provided by these standards usually raises property values because investors can be assured that the historic nature of the district will remain intact. According to Donovan D. Rypkema, a scholar in the field of preservation economics, “it has been found that when a local district has the greatest positive impact on property values four variables are usually in place: clear, written design guidelines for the affected properties; staff for the preservation commission; active educational outreach by the staff and commission to property owners, real estate brokers, architects, builders, etc.; and consistent and predictable decisions by the commission.”

Better Home Town/Main Street Through collaborative efforts among the Historical Society, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) and Main Street, the efforts to maintain Tybee’s sense of place and highlight the island’s unique beachside community continues to progress with the support of city officials. Tybee has been a Main Street (previously called Better Hometown) Community since Main Street is a program through the National Trust for Historic Preservation that follows a balanced 4-point approach for economic development within the context of historic preservation. Tybee’s program is through the city, led by a working volunteer board with committees and partners that work with the coordinator. Through Main Street, financing opportunities and design assistance are available and can prove beneficial for a city that wants to preserve its architectural and community heritage.

Local Resources Tybee Island Historical Society: Sarah Jones Better Home Town/Tybee Main Street Program Chantel Morton Quatrefoil Consulting Robert Ciucevich City of Tybee Zoning Manager Dianne Otto

Historic Preservation Commission CommissionerContact Information Sue Bentley, Chair Dottie Kluttz Jane Coslick Neca Stoller Sarah Jones, Bill Garbett, Bill