Downtown Historic Preservation Open House

Early in 2022 the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas (UG) was awarded a grant from the Kansas Historic Preservation Fund to complete a place study for Downtown Kansas City, Kansas Churches and Religious Sites.

As the first phase of the project is nearing completion, property owners located within the study area are invited to an open house that will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2022 at First AME Church of Kansas City, KS (1111 North 8th Street, KCK, KS, 66101). 

As a property owner of a religious building that was included in this study, your organization may become eligible for financial assistance, including historic tax credits and community development grants. In certain instances, you may also be eligible for historic preservation grants, offered by the Kansas Historic Preservation Fund and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The purpose of this Multi-Property listing is to make future designation easier for the property owner should they chose to pursue it. If you are interested in moving forward with designating your property as historic, we highly recommend you attend this meeting, and/or contact UG staff at the information provided below.

Why should I be interested in historic designation?

● It can provide a path for tax incentives and grants to improve and maintain historic buildings;

● It can provide the opportunity to save up to 45% on qualified rehabilitation expenses for qualified properties through historic tax credits;

● It is a proven strategy for community development initiatives, and provides the opportunity to use historic preservation as an economic development tool; and,

● Historic preservation attracts tourism and strengthens a community’s identity, economic development and resilience.

Every community holds valuable pieces of the past. These historic elements are responsible for keeping a sense of place and pride for the community. The process of historic preservation helps to ensure that these ties remain strong and that those resources remain intact for the enjoyment of future generations.

This project has been funded from the Kansas Historical Society and the National Park Service, a division of the United States Department of the Interior and will have NO COST TO THE PROPERTY OWNER.

In determining whether to designate a new historic district, a historic preservation consultant was hired to conduct the research, evaluation, and to update the previous planning efforts for the proposed Downtown KCK Historic Churches Multiple Property Listing.

The consultant took the following criteria into consideration about the buildings conditions when conducting the study:

1. Has distinguishing architectural characteristics of a period, style, method of construction, indigenous materials or craftsmanship;

2. Has special character or historic or aesthetic interest or value as part of the cultural, political, economic, or social history of the community; and,

3. Is eligible for inclusion on the State or National Registers of Historic Places.

We hope you will join us for the open house at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 5, 2022. If you have any questions regarding this process, please do not hesitate to contact the Planning and Urban Design Department at rlgreeves@wycokck.org or 913.573.5763.

 

When

Location

First AME Church of Kansas City, Kansas, 1111 North 8th Street, 66101, View Map