Preservation

SPARK Consulting assists communities with a variety of preservation planning needs.  Preservation planning encompasses a wide variety of activities, including identification of historic resources, evaluation of these resources, creation of goals for future use and appearance of these resources, and integration of these goals into other planning programs.  Preservation planning recognizes that historic resources are valuable assets of the community that contribute to its strength and vitality.

Historic preservation planning can begin with the completion of a Planning for Preservation study to assess the current status of preservation in the community and historic resources.  For some communities, this document may guide their activities for several years while other communities choose to develop a more formal Preservation Plan to outline their preservation goals and objectives.  A Preservation Plan follows a public planning process to develop a document that focuses on preservation goals, such as an inventory of historic resources, development of historic contexts, evaluation and nomination of properties to the National Register of Historic Places,  inclusion of historic resources in economic development projects, utilization of these resources to promote the community or area to local and regional visitors, and public education and training.

A variety of projects might be utilized to achieve these goals, including architectural surveys, National Register nominations, historic preservation grants, rehabilitation design recommendations, rehabilitation tax credits, design standards, public education programs, and heritage tourism projects.  For more information on these projects or other preservation projects, contact SPARK Consulting.

More information on preservation planning can be found at https://www.nps.gov/preservation-planning.