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Date: 7/21/2022
SPRINGFIELD – The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) awarded five historic homes restoration grants during its July 5 meeting. The grants are given as a part of the Historic Home Restoration Program.
CPC Administrator Karen Lee explained that the program formed initially as a pilot program funded by the Springfield Office of Planning and Economic Development in 2020. After the program ended, the CPC expressed interest in reviving it under their leadership, according to Lee.
“The preservation committee liked the idea of it and funded the program. This is our first time opening [the program] up to all seven districts [in Springfield],” said Lee. In 2021, the CPC offered a version of the Historic Home Restoration Program that focused solely on the McKnight district.
The seven historic districts eligible for historic grant funding are Forest Park Heights, McKnight, Maple Hill, Ridgewood, Lower Maple, Quadrangle-Mattoon and Colony Hills.
The Historic Home Restoration Program awards five households up to $30,000 in grant funding. Eligible homes include properties built prior to 1940 and owned by the applicant for one year prior to the application. The CPC awards funds from the city’s Community Preservation Act (CPA) accounts.
According to the CPC, funding is targeted for exterior home projects, including the restoration of original windows and doors, purchase and installation of energy-efficient storm windows, restoration of porches and exterior painting of the property.
Lee shared that 195 households submitted applications for a Historic Home Restoration Program. The five awarded homes include 16 Ridgewood Terrace in the Ridgewood district, 80 Fairfield St. in the Forest Park Heights district, 168 Pineywoods Ave. in Forest Park Heights, 94 Elliot St. in the Quadrangle-Mattoon district, and 27 Clarendon St. in the McKnight district.
The CPC also deliberated over recommendations for the 2022 Community Preservation Act funding cycle during its July 5 meeting. The CPC oversees the selection of CPA applicants for a variety of community projects. Since Springfield adopted the CPA in 2018, the CPC has funded 56 projects with a combined cost of over $7 million.
The 2021 application process awarded several enterprises with necessary funding, with projects including the rebuilding of the Forest Park Water Garden Gazebo, development of Duggan Park and the exterior preservation of the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museums.
For the 2022 cycle, the CPC will make final decisions on applicants ahead of presenting the selected entities to the City Council in September.
Readers interested in learning more about the Springfield CPC can go to https://www.facebook.com/SpringfieldCommunityPreservationCommittee.