Sustaining Our History and Environment

When most people think of going green or living sustainably, they think the solution is to build new buildings with eco-friendly materials. A brand new modern building not only looks aesthetically pleasing to some people, but the structure conveys the idea of sustainability through its new windows and building materials. However, is building a new building the sustainable way to go, especially when there are historical and old non-historical buildings that could serve the same purpose? While newer buildings may seem like the sustainable solution, revitalizing older buildings actually offer more benefits than building a completely new structure.

In order to build a new structure, huge amounts of energy go into the actual construction of the building. The most obvious example is the machines that are needed to construct the actual structure, thus adding pollution to the environment. Additionally, new materials need to be made and transported to the site, which adds to the energy it takes to build the new structure. Furthermore, if an older building stands on the ground where the new structure is to be placed, more energy is needed to demolish the existing building. Governing Magazine’s article, “Greening of Historic Buildings”, describes buildings as having “embodied energy”: “When a building is torn down, its ‘embodied energy’--the energy already exerted to create and gather the materials, and then construct the structure--is wasted.” After the older building is torn down, most of those materials may end up in a land fill. Finally, the construction of a new building begins. Pouring foundations and other structural supports create a disastrous foot print that takes hundreds of years to be renewed by nature. By using a building that already exists much of this process is eliminated and energy can be focused to fix smaller structural elements.

Many professionals in the field of historic preservation also note that older buildings were often built to last much longer than buildings built in the last 50 years. The quality of materials used in older builds is much better than the materials used today. Patrice Frey, director of sustainability research at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, explains that the wood used to make windows and supports for older building is of a higher quality than materials used today. Frey notes that vinyl windows are constructed to last about 20 years and do not hold heat as well as wood frame windows. As a result, when people replace these windows they generally end up in the local dump. He adds that wood windows can last up to 100 years, hold heat better than vinyl windows, and are relatively easy to fix.

Additionally, older buildings were constructed in ways to take advantage of natural light and environmental resources. For example, most early mills were built next to rivers to harness the energy of the moving water to power machinery. The mill may also have had windows placed in certain spots to take advantage of the natural sunlight, which allows for maximum lighting in the summer and heating in the winter. Additionally, the floor plan of the mill may be designed in such a way to allow for ventilation and air flow throughout the building. All of these qualities can help to reduce energy use today with minimum impact to the environment.

Another reason to use older historic or non-historic buildings is that there are numerous local and federal tax credits available to refurbish or preserve buildings. According to the National Park Service, which works with the Internal Revenue Service to distribute these credits, the credits are “one of the Federal government’s most successful and cost-effective community revitalization programs.” The government offers two levels of tax credits available to structures that qualify. The first is the 10% credit and the second is the 20% credit.

The 10% credit helps people who may own non-historic buildings built before 1936. For example, if the owner of a building spends $1.1 million to buy a structure and then puts $1 million dollars of work into the building, the total tax refund would be $210,000. The 20% tax credit is offered to those people who have purchased a historic structure and agree to make rehabilitation changes in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior standards of restoration. If the owner of the historic structure spends $2 million to purchase a building and spends $1 million in restoration, the total tax credit received in this scenario would total credit they will receive $300,000. Along with other federal tax credits, many local and state governments offer tax credits for people who purchase older buildings and plan to restore or conserve the buildings. By using the tax credits available to restore older buildings, the impact of investing in non-historic and historic buildings drastically improves the direct area and surrounding communities in the future.

Utilizing historic buildings brings much needed income and jobs to once desolated areas of many cities and communities. A study conducted by the Michigan Historic Preservation Network (MHPN) in 2006 notes that since 2001, preservation work has grown rapidly and returned millions of dollars back into Michigan’s economy: “Since MHPN issued its 2001 report, private investment spurred over $902 million to Michigan’s economy, for a total economic impact of more than $1.93 BILLION and the creation of more than 22,000 jobs.” One city trying to change its image through revitalizing older buildings is Detroit, Michigan. The Merchants Row area located on Woodward Avenue is one example of the beneficial impact of using buildings already available rather than constructing new buildings. The MHPN Report from 2006 notes the total investment to rehabilitate the five buildings for this project was just over $28 million dollars in early 2000. Since their competition, they have brought nearly $60 million dollars in total economic income for the area and created over 700 jobs.

Even small cities like Ypsilanti, Michigan, have reaped benefits from offering incentives to restore old buildings. About 25 years ago, the area known as Depot Town in Ypsilanti was known as a rough part of town. However, with investments from local business owners, businesses have helped turn this area of town around. Depot Town draws many people from all over the area to their businesses, restaurants, and community activities.

Restoration of existing buildings benefits the communities in the same way that new buildings do. Just as new buildings increase surrounding property values, historic and non-historic buildings that are restored do the same thing. However, the increase of property value is far greater in area close to a revitalized historic district or historic structure than areas that are not close to a historic district or historic structure. The MHPN report notes that in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the property value in areas surrounding the revitalized historic district increased nearly 400% while areas not surrounding the historic district only increased about 70%. Furthermore, local and state governments benefit from increased revenue from these areas. However, the most important aspect of revitalizing older structures is that restoring them brings life to an area of a community that has deteriorated as a result of years of neglect.

Choosing to restore a historic or non-historic structure offers several important benefits that impact the community at a greater level than building a completely new structure and is the more sustainable choice when purchasing a building. By using a building that is already constructed we save a huge amount energy that would be used to construct a completely new building. Furthermore, federal and state governments support revitalization programs by offering investors huge tax credits. While saving energy and money are important, the ripple effect that revitalizing an older building in a town or city brings additional revenue and draws other businesses to the area. More importantly, using historic and non-historic buildings saves deteriorating areas and saves the historical heritage of our communities.