The Preservation Alliance of West Virginia – the statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to historic preservation in the Mountain State – recently announced it is accepting grant applications for its Saving Historic Places Grant. The purpose of the Saving Historic Places grant program is to save certified historic buildings in rural communities from demolition by neglect. Funding will be provided for building emergencies, building stabilization, and pre-development costs.
“The Alliance created the Saving Historic Places Grant Program in 2019, to provide funding to help communities save the places that matter most to them,” explained Danielle Parker, executive director for the Alliance. Parker confirmed that in 2021, the Alliance received a Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant from the National Park Service, Department of the Interior to expand this program, and in 2022, over $400,000 were awarded to projects statewide. However, funds are still available totaling $60,000 for this Round 2 application period. Completed grant applications are due Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.
To qualify for this grant, buildings must either be individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places or listed as a contributing building in a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. “Eligible applicants for this program include just about everyone from business owners to nonprofit organizations and municipalities,” explained Parker. Eligible costs should focus on stabilizing the building to prevent further degradation and can include but are not limited to roof replacement, masonry repointing, foundation treatment, and window rehabilitation. To review the full guidelines for the Saving Historic Places Grant and to download an application form, visit https://www.pawv.org. Call 304-642-0693 if you have trouble accessing this information on the website.
The objective of the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization grant program is to support the rehabilitation of historic properties at the National, State, and local level of significance in order to rehabilitate, protect, and foster economic development in rural communities (less than 50,000 population) through subgrants which come from States, Tribes, Certified Local Governments, and non-profits able to support a competitive subgrant program. This program will fund preservation projects for historic sites to include architectural/engineering services (not to exceed 20% of the grant award) and physical preservation.