Title
Phoenix Historic Preservation Report
Description
This report provides an overview of the key findings from the Historic Preservation Impact Study.
THIS ITEM IS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION.
Report
Summary
The City of Phoenix has had a historic preservation program since the Historic Preservation Ordinance was first adopted in 1985. The goal of the program has been the protection, enhancement and preservation of properties and areas of historical, cultural, archaeological and aesthetic significance that are in the interests of the health, prosperity and welfare of the people of the City of Phoenix. PreserveHistoricPHX, adopted by City Council in 2015, further sets goals relating to connectivity, sustainability, diversity and prosperity.
At the request of the Historic Preservation Commission, City Council authorized on Oct. 7, 2020 for PlaceEconomics, a national consultancy that analyzes the impacts of historic preservation efforts, to prepare a study to determine the economic, social, cultural and environmental dividends of the city's historic preservation efforts (See Attachment A). The kick-off meeting for the study was held Nov. 19, 2020, followed by the data gathering and analysis stage of the study. Data included economic, social, cultural and environmental metrics. In addition, an analysis was done on the contributions of pre-1970 housing stock toward affordable housing in Phoenix.
PlaceEconomics met twice with a 12-member focus group including leaders of several preservation related organizations, on June 22, 2021 and Aug. 10, 2021. The focus group provided invaluable input regarding the status of preservation in Phoenix. PlaceEconomics also met during that period with small business owners, adaptive reuse developers and key community members involved with the early efforts of the preservation program, Terry Goddard and Grady Gammage, the Mayor and Councilwoman Laura Pastor, department heads Alan Stephenson and Christine Mackay, Historic Preservation Chair Dan Klocke and State Historic Preservation Officer Kathryn Leonard. PlaceEconomics also toured several historic sites including Phoenix Indian School, First Baptist Church, Beth Hebrew Synagogue, Rise Uptown Hotel, Phoenix College, and the Arizona Sash, Door and Glass Company Warehouse as well as multiple properties in the Warehouse District. A driving tour was also conducted through the city’s historic neighborhoods.
Key findings of Preservation Phoenix Style are:
- The historic neighborhoods of Phoenix are dense, 1,000 people per square mile more dense than residential neighborhoods in the rest of the City.
- Historic neighborhoods in Phoenix are walkable -- most rated “Very Walkable” -- whereas the city as a whole is rated “Car Dependent."
- During the real estate crisis which accompanied the Great Recession, foreclosure rates in historic neighborhoods were measurably lower than the rest of the city, a pattern that has continued every year since.
- Even during the last five years of a boom cycle in real estate, property values in historic districts have outperformed the city as a whole.
- Phoenix historic neighborhoods are diverse neighborhoods, by race, ethnicity, and income.
- Phoenix historic neighborhoods are also diverse in their housing stock with a much wider range of housing options than most Phoenix subdivisions.
- These neighborhoods also have a diversity of housing prices, with two-thirds of the housing stock having values in the mid-market range of $200,000 to $400,000.
- The tree cover typically found in historic areas sequesters five times the CO2, five times the value of water saved, and six times the value of air quality benefits per acre than the rest of the City.
- Commercial areas with a concentration of heritage buildings are magnets for small businesses, legacy businesses, and businesses in the creative and knowledge categories.
- 95 percent of all businesses in the heritage commercial areas employ fewer than 20 workers.
Additionally, the study found that the housing stock in historic neighborhoods is a crucial source of affordable housing. With 46 percent of Phoenix households considered low, very low or extremely low income, the city's older housing stock is providing affordable housing stock largely without subsidy, likely due to its age, condition and smaller unit size. Maintaining this affordable older housing stock is a crucial piece of efforts to respond to the affordable housing crisis.
Though the study does not make recommendations, it tells the story of our mid-century desert city and how it has used innovation, creativity and persistence to protect the city's historic resources to provide tangible benefits to the local economy, environment and culture. Staff recommends City Council formally adopt the findings of the PlaceEconomics Study. To read the full study please visit: https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/Preservation Phoenix Style Report_Draft for Council (4).pdf <https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/Preservation%20Phoenix%20Style%20Report_Draft%20for%20Council%20(4).pdf.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Ginger Spencer and the Planning and Development Department.