Last week, on March 4th, Marjorie Mahar Dergurahian, president of the city council delivered a legislative address directed to all Troy citizens. She made a statement that I haven't heard from the city council in 30 years: "This council will endeavor to preserve our heritage. We want to begin by expanding the current downtown historic district. Preserving our historic downtown not only provides a legacy to the citizens of tomorrow, but it is another step towards increasing the economic vitality of our city today."

Unfortunately, the proposal to approve the new historic districts was tabled because of a "glitch" in the way it came to the council. I am told the resolution will come back for vote next month. Let's all congratulate the council for this bold move.

Back in the 1970's and early 80's, much of the city was surveyed for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Districts, and several areas were designated eligible. Unfortunately, only Washington Park, River Street, and Second Street districts were approved by the city in 1986. The rest were tabled and through the years we lost several historic buildings to parking lots.

This new proposal is to include the greater downtown area and would include1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Avenues. If you own a business or live in the region you do want this to be approved.

In 1988, more than 75% of the property owners in downtown Denver, Colorado opposed turning their area into historic district. Their downtown had 40% vacancy rate, and 30% of the properties were foreclosed. By 1995, vacancy rates were less than 10%, and there are now 55 restaurants and clubs, 30 art galleries, and 650 new residential units. Property values have doubled and private investment has exceeded $75 million. How did this happen? Because the new developers and investors were lured into the area because of its charm and historic character - and by knowledge that it would remain that way. Sound familiar?

In Virginia, in 1995, a study addressed four aspects of preservation's economic impact: tourism, job creation, property values and downtown revitalization. They found that historic preservation visitors were a major portion of the state's $9 billion a year tourism industry. Seven out of ten first time visitors visited the state to visit historic sites, museums, and battlefields. The study also found that history minded visitors stayed longer and spent more- two and a half times more than the amount spent by other visitors. As for property values, they appreciated more in historic districts than in other areas of the cities. These results mimicked a separate independent study conducted by the Government Finance Officers Association's research center that found that property values in historic districts in Galveston Texas and Fredericksburg Virginia grew 1.5 to 3 times faster than comparable areas not in historic districts.

Also in 1995, the state historic preservation office of South Carolina sponsored an authoritative economic study of house prices and found that homes located in two nationally and locally designated historic districts increased in price at a rate almost 25 percent faster than did homes in the community at large.

Closer to home, on September 19, 2003, a study was released by the New York City independent budget office that proved property owners as well as neighborhoods benefit from historic district designation dispelling the myth that property values suffer when land marking is enacted. The study found "that despite the limitations on property rights and the higher cost of meeting historic-designation requirements, the sale prices of one-, two- and three-family homes, per square foot, within historic districts were higher than in nearby neighborhoods in every year studied since 1975. And on average over the entire period, prices of homes in historic districts increased in value slightly faster."

In 2002, a property value appreciation study for historic districts in Alabama came up with the same conclusion. "In all cases, it was found that historic designation has a positive and substantial impact on the value of properties located in a historic neighborhood. This conclusion is found to be true in the short run (the results from the event study), and in the long run -- as indicated by the results reported by the repeat-sales and general long-run price trends."

I can go on and on from one study to another that shows the same results in Florida, South and North Carolina, Tennessee, and others. Creating historic districts puts money in your pocket. So we should encourage the city council to proceed with these new historic district designations as soon as possible. If you want to learn more about this issue attend the Preservation 2004 conference in Saratoga on March 12-13, sponsored by the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation (www.saratogapreservation.org).