Historic Preservation
Tools Of Historic Preservation
Surely everyone appreciates a lovely old building, a beautiful meadow, hand-hewn stone walls. Preservation doesn’t happen by accident. First an historic area must have a preservation organization made up of caring individuals intent on saving their local heritage for future generations. They must be willing to work, raise funds and have the tenacity to stick with the program through difficult times.
From the outset, HFR helped improve and save historic properties in the village, a few of which are The Old Parsonage at St. John in The Wilderness, Lowndes House at the Flat Rock Playhouse and Chanteloup. From physically improving historic structures and landscapes – many times hands-on endeavors – to purchase and resell with Historic Preservation Agreements in place, our ultimate goal is to preserve as many properties as possible through the most important of documents, the Historic Preservation Agreement.
The Historic Preservation Agreement is a legal agreement between a property owner and a qualified 501 C(3) preservation organization. It is a private, voluntary agreement that runs with the deed in perpetuity, through inheritance and sales. It ensures that the architectural character will not be altered and the use and density of the property will not be changed, according to the wording in the agreement. The owner retains full ownership, and is obligated to honor the terms of the agreement, the wording of which he tailors at the outset, with the assistance of HFR and legal counsel. An Historic Preservation Agreement is considered a charitable donation.
Historic Flat Rock currently holds Historic Preservation Agreements on 24 key properties and Preservation North Carolina in Raleigh holds the preservation agreement on the HFR Inc. 170-year-old historic Old Post Office used as the HFR Cultural Center/Museum.
Working with HFR Inc. is your best way to create for your property a preservation easement. Knowing that a special historic property is being saved forever is immeasurably satisfying. We also try to preserve historic landscapes, outbuildings and rock work. As you drive through Flat Rock you will see special historical markers placed by HFR Inc. identifying properties which have preservation easements. These easements were either granted by the owner or came about by HFR Inc. purchasing and restoring the property prior to selling to a new owner.
In creating a historical preservation easement which involves land, there are potential tax savings. Both legal and financial advice should be sought. HFR Inc, with our mission to preserve and protect the Flat Rock Historic District and our 501c3 status, will work with you on having your property achieve Historic Preservation Easement status. HFR Inc. Historic Preservation Agreements do create deed restrictions on properties to insure, who ever the property owner might be, the future of historically significant properties.
