I have two lamps from IKEA that don’t work anymore. They are about 10 years old, a short lifespan for a lamp. In an ideal world, I’d take them to the local lamp repair shop, to get rewired or whatever it takes to get them shining again. But the world is not ideal enough to support the economy of the lamp repair shop these days because at some point not so long ago it became cheaper to replace the broken lamps with new lamps. Which is an irony that IKEA itself mocked with one of their commercials with new is better.
Buildings and lamps it seems have something in common. Rehabbing an older building becomes a speadsheet game of finding the cheaper way to get to better. Which is why, in the interests of public good, tax credits for restoring and repurposing buildings exist.
Norwalk’s Redevelopment Agency has filed an applicaiton to create a historic district with the National Park Service for what was once the historical downtown of Norwalk. That would be the Wall Street area, wiped out by the flood of 1955. Naturally, being Norwalk, there’s some opposition to the creation of the district. The Advocate reports:
About two years after announcing its intentions to preserve the old city center at Wall and Main streets, the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency has submitted an application to create a national historic district.
The agency’s goal is to allow developers to receive tax breaks to restore historically and architecturally significant buildings, but some property owners oppose the designation, saying it will restrict their rights and create unnecessary bureaucracy.
The proposed district is roughly T-shaped and includes about 40 structures on Wall, Commerce and Knight streets. It includes a mix of late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural styles, along with the stone arch bridge over the Norwalk River.
Munro Johnson, a senior project manager with the Redevelopment Agency, said creating the district is a way to preserve history in a neighborhood that is about to be redeveloped.
“I think over time people’s view of revitalizing downtowns has evolved to recognize the important role that historic buildings play in conveying a sense of place,” Johnson said. “Certainly you can do all new construction.”
Michael McGuire, principal of Austin McGuire Co., a real estate appraisal company that owns part of 64 Wall St., said the designation likely will reduce property values because of the added bureaucracy.
“I look at it as just another imposition on my property rights,” McGuire said. “While it might often seem to benefit the larger population, sometimes it doesn’t.”
A few property owners opposing the designation point to the case of 93 East Ave. The house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, stands in disrepair after preservationists blocked demolition by the owners of the Norwalk Inn & Conference Center to make way for an addition.
A former theater at 71 Wall St. built in 1915 also is included in the district, and is part of the Wall Street Place redevelopment plan being managed by Poko Partners of Port Chester, N.Y. Andrew Kydes manages the building, owned by his wife, Mary Kyriakides.
Kydes will vote against the historic district, and said his plans for the former theater are in limbo because Poko is proposing an eight-story structure where there is parking for his building.
“This is one step toward socialism, where people dictate what you can or can’t do with your property,” Kydes said.
Massimo Tullio, an owner of Fat Cat Pie Co. on Wall Street, favors a historic district.
Tullio, who is buying the 1850s building that houses his restaurant and once was an opera house, said the area will keep its charm if the city guarantees preservation.
Michael DiScala, whose company is developing the Head of the Harbor project behind Fat Cat, said the benefits of a historic district far outweigh the extra bureaucracy.
In 1988, DiScala revamped the old Trolley Barn building that now houses Meigas Restaurant, taking advantage of tax credits.
“I think what makes Norwalk unique is we have a knack for blending the historical buildings with new buildings,” DiScala said. “Some of these buildings . . . would probably not be approved for demolition anyway. Why not take advantage of the designation?”
The historic district designation actually has little bureacracy attached to it. The designation simply allows for individual property owners to qualify for applications for federal tax credits should they seek them. Once federal tax credits are granted to a property owner, then the layer of bureaucracy kicks in, with regulations about how the historic rehab will be conducted. The other reg that kicks in is a federal 90 day wait on any demolition of buildings within the designated historic district. This really doesn’t affect Norwalk property owners since Norwalk already has a 90 day delay ordinance.
Essentially a National Register listing means that a property has been researched and evaluated according to established procedures and determined to be worthy of preservation for its historical value. It’s an honor bestowed on the property. The listing doesn’t obligate or restrict a private owner in any way unless the owner seeks that federal benefit of dollars through a grant or a tax credit. That tax credit is a 20% federal investment tax credit that can be claimed against the cost of a certified rehabilitation of an income-producing historic building.
Not a bad deal if you were totaling up that spreadsheet of costs of fixing versus building new. Lamps should be so lucky.
source: Advocate, History in the making at Wall and Main, By Lisa Chamoff, 10/03/2008
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