Help us celebrate 50 years of Preservation Action by joining or renewing your membership during our Summer Membership Drive! Annual membership is what powers our efforts to advocate for the critical preservation programs and policies that we depend on. If you rely on the information provided every week in the Legislative Update or our Action Alerts that help you communicate more effectively and easily with your members of Congress, please join or renew your membership TODAY! 

In addition to our weekly Legislative Update, Action Alerts, and Quarterly Newsletters, members receive:



• Invitations to Preservation Action events throughout the year- including member-only tours planned during the PastForward Conference in New Orleans and National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week in Washington, D.C.
• Exclusive this year, new or renewing members who join in July or August will receive a special 50th anniversary enamel pin!

Don't miss out, our membership drive ends Aug. 30th. Join or renew your membership TODAY!

Legislation Introduced to Encourage Conversion of Vacant Commercial Properties Into Housing

Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House and Senate that would create a tax incentive to convert older commercial buildings into affordable housing. The Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act (H.R. 9002, S. 4693), introduced by Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH) and Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) in the House, would create a new 20% tax incentive, modeled after the Historic Tax Credit (HTC), to convert older commercial properties and office space into affordable housing. The bill would require the properties to be more than 20 years old and that a minimum of 20% of the residential units created to be affordable. The total credit would be capped at $15 billion and expire at the end of 2027. Advocates say this bill would help address two parallel problems, the ongoing affordable housing crisis and commercial and office space often sitting vacant or underutilized in downtowns, suburbs, and small towns across the country as more people are working from home since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill includes a couple of provisions that relate to historic preservation. One provision would reduce the property conversion credit by 50% on projects that qualify for the HTC. Another provision increases the credit from 20% to 35% on the first $2 million in qualified expenditures for historic preservation projects located in rural areas. Additionally, the credit would be able to be stacked with other federal tax incentives, including the HTC.

Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA). The full text of the bill is available below.

Pennsylvania's Historic Moravian Bethlehem District Selected to UNESCO World Heritage List

At the World Heritage Committee meeting in New Delhi, India, the Historic Moravian Bethlehem District in Pennsylvania was officially inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Moravian sites in Pennsylvania were established as part of a planned community in 1741 that currently encompasses 10 acres including 9 structures, 4 ruins, and the God's Acre Cemetery. The district preserves some of the most important and intact sites related to the Moravians in the Americas and are outstanding examples of Moravian architecture and town planning.

With the inscription, the Moravian sites in Pennsylvania were officially added to the Moravian Church Settlements World Heritage Listing, joining historic settlements in Gracehill, Northern Ireland, Herrnhut, Germany, and Christiansfeld, Denmark. The designation is officially the 26th World Heritage Site in the United States, following the inscription of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks in Ohio last year, and the first transnational World Heritage listing. The Secretary of Interior, Deb Haaland, authorized the development of this nomination for World Heritage List consideration in 2022. Sites currently on the U.S. Tentative List include Civil Rights Movement Sites and the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia.

Congratulations to all of the advocates across Pennsylvania and the country that helped make this happen.

The deadline for several grant programs funded through the Historic Preservation Fund are quickly approaching. The National Park Service is still accepting applications for the History of Equal Rights grant program, the Underrepresented Communities grant program, and the African American Civil Rights grant program. Learn more about these important grant programs and apply today!

The History of Equal Rights grant program helps preserve sites related to the struggle to achieve equal rights in America. Grants support pre preservation planning and physical "bricks and mortar" preservation projects and are funded through a competitive process. Grants are open to states, tribes, local governments (including Certified Local Governments), educational institutions and nonprofits. Currently $5 million is available in funding through the program. Applications for these grants are due August 20, 2024.

The Underrepresented Communities grant program supports the survey, inventory, or nomination of new sites or amending of previous listings to the National Register or as a National Historic Landmark, that help tell the stories of communities that are currently underrepresented. National Park Service takes a broad view on the definition of underrepresented, and looks for that case to be made in the application. Currently $1.25 million is available in funding through the program. Applications are due August 29, 2024.

The African American Civil Rights grant program documents, interprets, and preserves sites and stories related to the African American struggle to gain equal rights, from the transatlantic slave trade and onward. These grants fund a broad range of preservation projects including survey and inventory, National Register nominations, oral histories and more and do not require a funding match. Grants are split into two different opportunities, "preservation projects" and "history projects". Currently $24 million is available in funding through the program. Applications are due September 05, 2024.

Together these grants are helping to preserve places that tell a more diverse and inclusive American story. Preservation Action continues to advocate for increased support for all of these important programs.

National Park Service: "National Park Service Awards $456,934 to Enhance Civil War Battlefield Restoration Projects"

National Trust for Historic Preservation: "American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 'Backing Historic Small Restaurants' Grant Program Awards $2.5 Million in Total Funding to 50 Restaurants"

Massachusetts: "Housing Legislation in Massachusetts Doubles Cap for State HTC"

Alabama: "A Nonprofit is Breathing New Life into Small Towns"

New York: "Opinion: Demolition or Reuse of Historic Buildings? It's a Question of Community Values"