By Paul Tuthill
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-976094.mp3
Springfield, MA – There were about 200 historic properties in the city of Springfield Massachusetts that were in the six mile long path of the June 1st tornadoes. That is approximately ten percent of the locally or nationally registered historic places in Springfield, according to the city's historical commission. A preliminary assessment of the storm damage to historic places is underway, as we hear from WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill..
The Springfield Preservation Trust and Preservation Massachusetts have collaborated to try to assess what the devastating tornadoes did to Springfield's historic treasures. Volunteers armed with spread sheets that list the addresses of historic districts are going up and down streets in the hard hit Maple High, Six Corners and South End neighborhoods doing what's called a sidewalk assessment..
That's Carol de Carlo, one of the volunteers with the Springfield Preservation Trust. On a recent afternoon she was noting for the record the appearance of century old Victorian mansions that sit on the former campus of the McDuffie School high up a hill overlooking downtown Springfield and the Connecticut River.
For each address on the list, de Carlo makes a notation, based strictly on visual observation as to whether there is minor damage, major damage or a total loss.
Preservation experts will follow up on the reports turned in by the Springfield Preservation Trust volunteers. The Maple Hill Local Historic District appears to have been hit hardest. Local historic districts in Lower Maple and Ridgewood were also affected. National Historic Districts hit by the tornado include Court Square, Smith Carriage and the Watershops.
State law allows the owners of historic buildings damaged by a natural disaster to make repairs without getting prior approval from the local historic commission. The owner must notify the commission about the work that is taking place. About two dozen owners of historic buildings have so far notified the Springfield Historic Commission of repairs that are being made.
Springfield City Councilor Melvin Edwards, who represents the Maple High neighborhood says there is a strong connection between historic preservation and economic recovery.
Home prices in historic districts tend to be higher than the market as a whole. So restoring the historic properties could strengthen the city's tax base.
City assessors have already reduced by at least 25 percent the values on some two thousand properties in the path of the tornadoes. That change will be reflected on the next two quarterly tax bills according to city's chief assessor, Richard Allen
More than 200 buildings have been wiped off the tax rolls through condemnation.