NEWTON, NC (January 19, 2012) – A public information meeting will be held Monday, Jan. 23 to present information concerning the Newton Downtown Historic District nomination. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Newton City Hall, located at 401 North Main Avenue. The meeting will be conducted by Ms. Ann Swallow of the State Historic Preservation Office and by Mr. Clay Griffith of Acme Preservation Services.
The proposed downtown historic district is roughly bound by 2nd Street, N. Forney Avenue, A Street and N. Ashe Avenue. The North Carolina Historic Preservation Office will present the nomination for the Newton Downtown National Register Historic District to the North Carolina National Register Advisory Committee in Raleigh on Feb. 9. City of Newton officials expect that the Advisory Committee will approve the nomination and forward it on to the National Park Service for final approval. Processing at the National Park Service typically takes from 15 to 45 days, according to the State Historic Preservation Office, so Newton’s downtown district is expected to be listed on the National Register before the end of March.
At the Jan. 23 meeting, Ms. Swallow and Mr. Griffith will review the benefits of and the process for establishing a National Register historic district and will explain the steps to be taken from this point in the project to final approval. The final map of the historic district will be available and the significance of “contributing” status versus “non-contributing” status of individual structures will be explained. Mr. Griffith will also provide a brief history of Newton’s downtown commercial district and its architecture. This meeting will be an opportunity for property owners and citizens to have their questions answered before Newton’s nomination is heard by the N.C. National Register Advisory Committee.
Mayor Anne Stedman said she believes this is another step in the right direction in terms of downtown revitalization. “The establishment of a downtown historic district is an important part of the City’s efforts to grow downtown Newton into a more vibrant center of our community,” said Mayor Stedman. “I encourage all downtown property owners to become informed of the investment tax benefits associated with a National Register listing.”
The owner of a privately-owned building that is listed in the National Register or is a contributing building in a National Register historic district may be eligible for a 20 percent federal income investment tax credit claimed against the costs of a qualifying rehabilitation of the building. North Carolina tax law also provides a 20 percent “piggyback” credit for such projects. Plans for rehabilitation projects must be reviewed by the N.C. Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service, and work on the building must meet federal rehabilitation standards.
The listing of a property in the National Register places no obligation or restriction on a private owner using private resources to maintain or alter the property.
The State Historic Preservation Office has a specific process for hearing any objections to a proposed National Register listing. If an owner of property within a proposed historic district chooses to object to the listing of their property, that owner must submit a written objection to Mr. Jeffery Crow, State Historic Preservation Office, 4610 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4610.
For more information about the proposed historic district, contact Commercial Development Coordinator Rob Powell at (828) 695-4360.
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