Downtown Painesville Organization obtains grant to complete national historic designation process

The Downtown Painesville Organization recently received funding to complete the National Register Nomination for a historic district.

Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Pipeline Initiative awarded the DPO a grant up to $12,000.

The primary goal of the Pipeline Initiative is to develop a pipeline of properties that are eligible for redevelopment assistance. The initiative provides funding and technical assistance to assist in nominating buildings, districts and areas to the National Register of Historic Places, according to its website.

Executive Director David Polakowski said the grant will help the organization complete the National Register of Historic Places final application. It will specifically be used to appoint Tara Carlson as a paid intern.

“Unfortunately, we do not have the funds in the budget to do paid internship unless we get the grant dollars,” he said. “Tara has worked so hard. She has donated many hours helping us.”

Carlson is a graduate student at Ursuline College majoring in historic preservation.

Carlson and City Planner Lynn White both has been instrumental in this entire process, Polakowski said.

“I could not do this without my board and volunteers,” he said. “It’s a long and tedious process. So far, it’s been basically a two-year process.”

A few months ago, the DPO Design Committee met with Ohio History Connection Survey and National Register Managers Ross Nelson and Susan Tietz to discuss the proposed Painesville Historic District and the National Register nomination process.

“The last step was submitting a pre-application to see if we qualify,” he said. “ That’s when the group came to meet with us to discuss what we need to do to submit the next step which was the Pipeline Grant and get approval to go for the final application. After we submit the final application, we have to wait five months for approval.”

A sample final application for the National Register of Historic Places was over 100 pages. It requires a comprehensive history, the current use and architectural details of every structure in the proposed district.

“If I was to hire a firm to help with this application, it would cost $20,000 to $30,000,” he said. “So, it’s great that she is willing to help us. The best part for Tara is that not only is she going to be a paid intern, but she talked to her thesis advisor and this is all going to be a part of her thesis. Her main thesis is Historic Main Street Painesville.”

Polakowski is pleased with the progress made toward national recognition.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “It has been basically a two-year process. Our target date is July 1st of next year to have everything completed and submitted. Our buildings are truly what makes our district historical.”

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