N.C. Historic Preservation Office Offers Three Information Sessions in May

April 27, 2011 - PRLog -- RALEIGH , N.C.– North Carolina communities take pride in their heritage and culture, and during May, National Preservation Month, the state Historic Preservation Office (HPO) will help citizens learn how to preserve pieces of the past.  

A series of three “Lunch and Learn” talks will be presented at noon in the Archives and History/State Library Building on Tuesdays, May 3, May 10 and May 17.  Citizens can embrace the national theme “Celebrating America’s Treasures” with action in North Carolina.

The May 3 talk, “National Register of Historic Places and Historic Preservation Tax Credits,” will review the process to acquire the 40-percent combined federal and state tax credit for rehabilitation of income-producing historic properties, and the 30-percent state tax credit for non-income producing properties.  Since 1976 more than 2,000 HPO-certified projects have received more than one billion dollars in investment in historic properties; job creation, revitalization, economic activity, and community pride have resulted.  HPO staff members Ann Swallow and Tim Simmons will be the presenters.

“The historic preservation tax credits are the only financial incentive for private property owners to rehabilitate historic properties,” explains HPO Acting Administrator Claudia Brown.  “The credits make it possible for owners to undertake a rehabilitation that preserves the historic character of a property that in many cases would otherwise be inappropriately altered or destroyed.”

On May 10, Preservation North Carolina Executive Director Myrick Howard will explain his organization’s work (www.presnc.org) and will speak on “Real Estate Is the Name of the Game: Saving Endangered Historic Properties Across N.C.”

The May 17 final talk, “Restoration, Reconstruction, and a Whole Lot of Rehabilitation: Historic Preservation in the Triangle,” will be given by Mitch Wilds of the HPO staff.

For additional information call (919) 807-7389.  The State Historic Preservation Office is within the Office of Archives and History in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural and economic future. For more information on Cultural Resources, visit www.ncculturecom.

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The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources is the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural and economic future. www.ncculture.com