MANSFIELD — A proposed historic district designation in downtown Mansfield would enable eligible property owners to apply for federal historic tax credits, which would offset the cost of renovations.
Mansfield City Council approved legislation authorizing the safety-service director to accept two grants, each worth $12,000, on behalf of the Mansfield Historic Preservation Commission. One grant was from the Richland County Foundation and the second was from the Black Foundation through the Richland County Foundation.
A third $12,000 grant will be presented for approval, for a grand total of $36,000.
The money will be used for an analysis of a proposed downtown historic district, which will be conducted by Josh Lapp of Designing Local, a Columbus-based business that specializes in historic preservation, as well as public art planning, public engagement and visioning.
Lapp said the analysis is a very in-depth process that takes at least 400 hours to do the research necessary to document the history of the area.
“Part of this will be about giving something to you guys that can help tell the story of Mansfield, so we are going to do a lot of public engagement around this,” he said.
It takes about a year to get the district in place and requires state approval, he said.
The boundaries of the district are determined by the state historic preservation office.
“(It) incorporates what we know as the Carrousel District, which we would all agree is a very historic area but has no historic designation,” said Dan Seckel, vice chair of the Mansfield Historic Preservation Commission.
The designation doesn’t impact anything with regard to zoning or local historic review, Lapp said.
“It doesn’t add any extra restrictions on what you can do with the buildings,” he said. “It really just allows for access to the tax credits.”
And according to Lapp, that’s the most prominent perk.
“The biggest advantage of getting on the National Register (of Historic Places) is it makes all the historic buildings within the district eligible for federal historic tax credits,” he said.
The tax credits are non-competitive, he said, “so if you qualify for it, you get it, and it can really help drive a lot of funds to help renovate buildings in downtown Mansfield.”
Third Ward Councilman Jon Van Harlingen noted there is no taxpayer money involved in this project.
“We’ve had a couple examples of this at council in the past,” he said. “It is very beneficial. It draws investors and it also brings the properties up to a higher standard than maybe it might do without.”
