Title
Retroactive Approval to Apply for an Arizona State Parks & Trails Historic Preservation Heritage Fund Grant for Fiscal Year 2024 - State Funding (Resolution 22179)
Description
This report requests that the City Council retroactively authorize City staff to apply for the Arizona State Parks & Trails Historic Preservation Heritage Fund Grant to rehabilitate the historically designated Seargeant-Oldaker House located at 649 N. 3rd Ave.
Applications were due to the State by Nov. 3, 2023. The application requires City Council resolution by no later than Jan. 3, 2024.
Report
Summary
The Arizona State Parks & Trails Historic Preservation Heritage Fund was funded in 2023 by the State Legislature with $1.8 million in funds. Grants can request up to 20 percent of the historic preservation fund. The grant program funds brick and mortar projects for historic resources including rehabilitation, restoration, stabilization, and protection.
The City intends to submit for one grant to rehabilitate the historic Seargeant-Oldaker House. The house was constructed in 1909, and was listed in the National and Phoenix historic property registers as a significant local example of Craftsman-style architecture and for its association with prominent Phoenician Elizabeth Seargeant-Oldaker. The building, which had previously been slated for demolition, will now be relocated on the property, set on a new foundation, stabilized, and rehabilitated for adaptive reuse as a restaurant. The relocation would allow for new multi-use development on the property and provide for long-term preservation of the building through a conservation easement.
The total estimated project cost is $1,350,645, with the City to provide $400,000 in Phil Gordon Threatened Building Grant funds, the Historic Preservation Heritage Fund providing $324,329, and the property owner, 649 3rd Ave. Partners, LLC, dba LiveForward Development, paying the $626,316 balance.
The City is proposing to submit this application since the property is privately owned. Private property owners may not apply directly for Heritage Fund grants but may receive funds as a third party through an eligible third-party applicant.
Financial Impact
If awarded the State Historic Preservation Heritage Fund Grant, the City’s costs would not exceed $400,000.
Funding for the local match is available in the Historic Preservation Office Program Budget for grants and subsidies under the classification of the Phil Gordon Threatened Building Program. Approval for the match is being submitted as a separate agenda item. Potential state grant funding received is available through the State Legislature under A.R.S. 41-503 Historic Preservation Heritage Fund Fiscal Year 2024 grant opportunity.
Concurrence
The Historic Preservation Commission recommended approval of this item on Sept. 18, 2023, by an 8-0 vote.
Location
649 N. 3rd Ave.
Council District: 7
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Alan Stephenson and the Planning and Development Department.