News release from Governor Tim Kaine's office - October 10, 2006

Governor Kaine Highlights Virginia's #1 Ranking for Historic Districts Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

RICHMOND – Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that the National Park Service has ranked Virginia first among the 50 states for a second year in a row for the number of historic districts the state has listed on the National Register of Historic Places during the federal fiscal year ending September 30th. Virginia ranked second in the nation overall for the combined number of historic districts and individual properties listed on the National Register. The program is administered by Virginia’s Department of Historic Resources, in partnership with property owners and local communities.

The 29 districts and 77 individual properties listed on the state and National Registers play a vital role in the continued economic revitalization of many downtowns, commercial and residential neighborhoods throughout the Commonwealth. A National Register listing allows property owners to pursue federal rehabilitation tax credits to restore old buildings for income-producing uses. When combined with state rehabilitation tax credits, which can be more broadly applied to non-income producing properties, property owners can leverage up to 45% of eligible expenses.

“The Commonwealth’s ranking highlights the power of historic preservation as an economic and community revitalization tool,” Governor Kaine said. “Listing of historic districts and properties on the state and National Registers promotes both community pride and rehabilitation, often through innovative public-private partnerships. I am especially pleased that the Historic Register program, combined with tax credit incentives, have the added benefit of supporting smart growth, helping to stem sprawl in our urban and suburban areas.”

“Virginia’s property owners and communities are leading the nation in seeking formal recognition of our historic neighborhoods, and put Virginia’s history to work,” said Kathleen S. Kilpatrick, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, which administers the state and National Registers and tax credit programs. “Virginia has been at the top of the rankings in listing historic properties for the past five years, and ranked second nationally in the use of federal tax incentives to rehabilitate historic buildings during the 2005 federal fiscal year, the most recent year for which information is available.”

Many of the properties recently listed are making use of tax credit incentives to create residences, assisted living facilities, and commercial and retail space. For instance, the D.C. Workhouse and Reformatory Historic District – the site of the former Lorton prison complex – is leveraging rehabilitation tax credits for an estimated $16 million project. The 511-acre district in Fairfax County encompasses the primary buildings and agricultural and industrial lands that comprised this Progressive-era penal institution, established in the early 20th century by the District of Columbia as a workhouse to rehabilitate prisoners through a program of industrial production and vocational training. Today, the prison workhouse is undergoing conversion by the Lorton Arts Foundation into the Workhouse Arts Center. When completed, the Center will house artist studios, galleries, eateries, a heritage museum and a performing arts space.

The National Register listings cover historic districts in Arlington, Bedford, Chesterfield, Clarke, Dinwiddie, Fairfax, Fauquier, Floyd, Loudoun, Lunenburg, Montgomery, Nelson, Rappahannock, Rockbridge, and Westmoreland counties, and the cities of Bristol, Hampton, Martinsville, Norfolk, Petersburg, Richmond, Roanoke, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Williamsburg. The districts represent the broad range of Virginia’s rich and diverse historic legacy, and include places that evoke the Commonwealth’s colonial, agricultural, and manufacturing past, its Civil War-era and African-American history, and its commercial, urban, and suburban growth from the late 19th through the mid 20th century.

There are more than 2,400 resources in the Commonwealth listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places, the nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Both the state and National Registers use the same uniform standards of criteria for evaluating historic resources, focusing on the accomplishments of all individuals who have contributed to the history and heritage of Virginia and the United States. State and National Register listings assist local, state, and federal officials and agencies in identifying important properties worthy of preservation and consideration in planning and future development.