Since 1982, the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia has been working to enhance West Virginia’s Preservation Community in support of our historic structures and landscapes. One of the most effective programs we have deployed to date has been our Preserve WV AmeriCorps program. Since 2013 our AmeriCorps program has deployed 193 AmeriCorps service members across 176 sites in WV. The members have provided services to their sponsoring sites with the goals of increasing capacity, tourism, and sustainability for our historic assets across the state. 

The benefits of the Preserve WV AmeriCorps program to organizations can hardly be overstated. Beyond the direct service provided by national service members, there have been huge collateral benefits to West Virginia's communities. Service members have gained experience and understanding of the importance and intricacies of preservation activities to help them in their careers, sponsoring organizations have expanded their outreach and capacity to fulfill their missions, and members and alumni throughout the state have been invigorating their communities with fresh ideas and enthusiasm for West Virginia's historic assets. Many Preserve WV AmeriCorps members are from out of state, and some have gone on to remain here and become long-term residents of West Virginia.

Recently, the Preservation Alliance completed a Phase One evaluation of its AmeriCorps program with the Indiana University's Eppley Institute for Research. This report found that the 110 Preserve WV AmeriCorps members, who served in the Preserve WV AmeriCorps program during the period 2015-2019, positively impacted West Virginia's communities. Their service directly increased:

• Care of their site sponsor's historic resources by 77%
• Their site's organizational efficiency by 71%,
• Number of events at their sites by 72%,
• Visitation at their sites  by 61%, 
• Programming and resource sustainability by 61%,
• Volunteer participation at their sites by 31%, and
• Grant funding by 68%, with the median increase being $1,100 per site.

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A summary of that research is provided in the images below. You can also review a full copy of the report here. 

Come to Virtual Morning Coffee with the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, the National Trust Community Investment Corporation, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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Join us at 9am on Thursday, December 16th, for a news brief where we’ll discuss an opportunity to improve a crucial tool for redeveloping West Virginia’s downtowns and incentivizing the re-use of vacant buildings - the historic tax credit. A total of 122 Federal Historic Tax Credit projects in West Virginia between fiscal year 2001 through 2020 has leveraged an estimated $258,016,381 in total development.

During the news brief, we will share a legislative update, how to take action and how potential improvements to the historic tax credit can benefit local community development by maximizing the long-term impact and sustainability of current federal funding opportunities for community projects by incentivizing private sector investment.
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Register here https://savingplaces-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0lf-6rrDwsHtUg7nddSrjOJqOE8i9b3ibZ

AJ Hammond and Dylan Sheldon, DBA Historic Morgantown, recently completed the historic renovation of the home of former WVU President Daniel Boardman Purinton. The home at 76 Grandview Ave. in South Park, had fallen into a state of disrepair and sat vacant for over a year. However, recognizing the historic significance of the property, Sheldon and Hammond spent the last 18 months renovating the stately home to its original grandeur.

“The completion of this project has been incredibly rewarding,” said AJ Hammond, who is a Relationship Banker at Citizens Bank of Morgantown, and the current President of Main Street Morgantown. “The beautiful architecture, the stories behind these properties in South Park and Downtown are what sets this neighborhood apart! Our mission is to preserve these buildings, and share this important history in order to build a more vibrant community and improve the quality of life in Morgantown!”

President D.B. Purinton was not the only famed resident of this property. John Alden Purinton, named after his direct descendant John Alden a crew member of the Mayflower, was a son of the President and served as the first Basketball Coach at West Virginia University in 1904. Additionally, Edward Earle Purinton, who was an internationally renowned author and health expert, called this property home. The author’s most popular book selling over 700,000 copies, “Triumph of a Man who Acts,” was distributed to more than 50,000 Officers of the English Army in 1919.

“This property was the crown jewel of the neighborhood,” said Dylan Sheldon, a Project Manager at Inneraction Media. “Being a part of the team who brought it back to life, has been an honor.” This project was not Sheldon’s first historic renovation, he also restored an abandoned property on Park Street built in 1926 by carpenter, D.B. Biser. “South Park is a special neighborhood, with important properties,” said Sheldon, “in order to be good stewards of what we’ve been given, it’s important to restore these homes for future generations.”

Built in 1907, the Victorian home on Grandview Ave. served as a retirement property for the Purintons. Prior to moving to South Park, the family lived on the campus of WVU in the President’s Mansion. “The Purinton House,” as it is named today, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and houses the offices of International Students and Scholar Services.

The historic renovation features approximately 3,000 square feet of living space, all new electrical, plumbing, roof and windows. This home has been upgraded with modern amenities while preserving the original trim, pocket doors and built-in cabinets. The four bedroom, three bath house will hit the market next week through Nancy Hillegas of Landmark Realty Services. 

​The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia has been awarded a $550,000 Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant by the National Park Service to help preserve West Virginia’s endangered historic buildings. The Alliance will add this generous grant to its existing Saving Historical Places Grant Program, which provides funding to preserve West Virginia’s historical buildings that have fallen into disrepair and are vacant. Subgrants will be awarded for physical preservation with some opportunities for design assistance from a licensed architect or engineer. “Our goal is to bring more historic buildings back into service and contribute to our sense of place. We want to tell the story of these places through the preservation process,” said Danielle Parker, executive director of the Preservation Alliance. The Alliance is in the process of updating its Saving Historical Places Grant application process and will release formal guidelines explaining more details beginning December 2021 with a January 31, 2022 grant application deadline. The Alliance will present subgrant awards in spring 2022.
 
The National Park Service announced $7.27 million in Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants earlier this week. Grants were awarded to 11 recipients with 2 of the recipients in West Virginia. The purpose of this program is to support the preservation of historic buildings in rural communities across the country. This program is provided by the Historic Preservation Fund, as administered by the National Park Service, Department of Interior. For more information about HPF grants and the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants program, visit https://go.nps.gov/revitalization.

West Virginia has made its historic tax rehabilitation credit program permanent. Gov. Jim Justice recently signed the bi-partisan bill, which provides a 25% tax credit for those who rehabilitate historic income-producing properties. 

The 25% credit, which became law in 2018, was set to expire at the end of 2022. In those five years, the program attracted renewed interest in West Virginia’s historic commercial districts and spurred private reinvestment in more than 80 vacant and dilapidated buildings throughout the state. In just two of those years, more than $34 million were invested in nine projects.

The move to a permanent 25% credit provides needed certainty to property owners and developers, explained Renee Kuhlman, Senior Director at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The 25% credit often fills a financing gap in a project, but the uncertainty around its future made it difficult for developers to successfully apply for construction loans or plan long-term projects.

“The removal of the sunset date increases the attractiveness of the credit to investors,” Kuhlman said. “Already, I’ve received a call from a New Orleans developer wanting information about West Virginia properties because the program was made permanent.”

Without this tax credit, many historic redevelopment projects would not happen, explained Danielle Parker, executive director of the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia, a statewide organization dedicated to supporting and promoting historic preservation. The 25% credit is often the reason a project becomes feasible.
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"There are over 1,000 properties, including 168 historic districts, that can be revitalized using the credit, and I am excited to see how these places can be brought back to life using this financial incentive,” Parker said.
The state historic tax credit is capped at $30 million of income tax credits per year. The program also offers a 20% residential rehabilitation credit for historic homes, which is also permanent.

The State Historic Tax Credit is administered by the WV Historic Preservation Office, and the National Parks Service. For more information on applying for the credit or to find out if your property is an eligible tax credit project, please call 304-558-0240. You can also Visit the WV Historic Preservation Office's website for additional information.

​Thank you to Senator Ryan Weld for being the original sponsor of this legislation and for being a champion of historic preservation and community revitalization for West Virginia! 

We want to say thank you to the legislation's co-sponsors too! They are Senators Mike Woelfel, Robert Plymale, Richard Lindsay, Eric Nelson, Stephen Baldwin, Mike Maroney, and Glenn Jeffries.

Special thanks to Delegate Erikka Storch for supporting this bill through  the House of Delegates and to the Abandoned Properties Coalition for leading the charge to make the 25% state historic tax credit permanent.

U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced bipartisan legislation, S. 1258, on Tuesday to extend the authorizations of West Virginia’s National Coal Heritage Area and Wheeling National Heritage Area – which are set to expire September 30, 2021.

“As Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I am well aware of the impacts National Heritage Areas can have on local communities. Extending the authorizations of the National Coal Heritage Area and the Wheeling National Heritage Area will allow us to continue to recognize their significant contributions to our nation and provide an economic boost to the communities around them. This bipartisan legislation will preserve and protect West Virginia’s rich cultural traditions and historic sites so that future generations can enjoy them as we have, and I look forward to it being enacted into law,” said Senator Manchin, Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“Both the Wheeling National Heritage Area and National Coal Heritage Area are important to the culture and scenic beauty of our state. It is essential that we extend their designation as National Heritage Areas to help continue our efforts toward conservation, restoration, and economic development in these regions. I’m proud to introduce legislation that will help boost tourism and revenue in West Virginia, while also helping to expand opportunities for people to enjoy the natural beauty and history that our state has to offer,” Senator Capito said.
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National Heritage Areas (NHA) are designated by Congress as places where natural, cultural, and historic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally important landscape. By extending the official NHA designation, the National Coal Heritage Area and Wheeling National Heritage Area can continue to remain eligible for grants and technical assistance from the National Park Service that help create jobs, generate revenue for local governments, and sustain local communities