NOMINATIONS FOR WEST VIRGINIA ENDANGERED PROPERTIES ARE BEING ACCEPTED

Is there an old building in your town that is dilapidated, but you think it would be a perfect fixer-upper?  Do you volunteer with a historic organization that has been working to save an abandoned historic building and are in need of help?  Could you use some support in finding a new use for a community eye sore?  You fit one of the first criteria in working with an endangered property, and there are a lot of opportunities for these old properties outside of demolition.

Historic buildings can be endangered from neglect, deferred maintenance, proposed demolition, lack of resources, and environmental factors such as severe storms.  In West Virginia, your statewide historic preservation nonprofit, Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV), has developed an Endangered Properties List to address these issues and highlight at-risk historic resources.  When properties are listed and identified as endangered, property stewards receive specialized technical assistance and guidance to tackle problems related to their property’s endangerment.

Over the past five years, PAWV has assisted organizations and individuals in saving and re-using over forty historic properties.  To be added to the Endangered Properties List, properties must be listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Preservation and demonstrate a certain degree of endangerment.  Additionally, stewards must have a re-use plan and local support for the property’s re-use.  Properties can include historic buildings, archaeological sites, landscapes, bridges, structures, and more.

The Endangered List is based on nominations submitted on an annual basis and are selected by a committee comprised of members of the PAWV Board of Directors and staff.  Nominations are currently being accepted and are due on November 15.  Nomination forms are located at  http://pawv.org/endangernom.htm.   For questions, contact info@pawv.org or call 304-345-6005.