Julie Langan and Marc Wagner of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources speak at New Life Deliverance Tabernacle in Blackwell about proposed historic districts. (Photo by Tina Eshleman)
After two postponements and a revision of the original nomination, the two Virginia Department of Historic Resources boards will meet Oct. 10 to consider historic district designations that would expand the Manchester Residential and Commercial Historic District and create a separate Blackwell Historic District.
Initiated by a developer in March, the original proposal to expand the Manchester district to include Blackwell caused concern among Blackwell residents and in the wider community about the potential loss of neighborhood identity and impact on property taxes.
“One of the things we’ve learned is that this community is very proud of its history,” Julie V. Langan, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, told a crowd of about 50 during a public meeting on Thursday to talk about the proposed districts.
Pride in Blackwell's history and the desire to preserve it for future generations were themes that emerged during Thursday's meeting and a town hall on Wednesday by the Richmond Virginia Branch NAACP, both held at the New Life Deliverance Tabernacle on Decatur Street.
The Rev. Robert Winfree, pastor of the church hosting the events, says many Blackwell residents were blindsided by the historic district proposal when the state boards were originally scheduled to vote on it at a June 21 meeting in Montross, on Virginia's Northern Neck. Langan delayed the vote until the boards' Sept. 20 meeting in Petersburg to allow more time to inform residents, then postponed it again because of a problem with distributing notification letters and because the National Park Service advised her department that the Blackwell neighborhood would be a stronger candidate for listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a separate district than as an expansion of the Manchester district.
"How is it that people who are not in the community find out what's going on before the people who live in the community?" Winfree said at Wednesday's NAACP meeting. "I would like to see us be able to coexist, but I don't want us to be forced into a predicament where we are being forced out."
Winfree says he is offering the church as a hub for information. The Oct. 10 meeting, set for 1 p.m., also will be held there, in the Blackwell neighborhood. At that meeting, the two state boards will hold separate votes on the Blackwell Historic District (where the bulk of the 624 affected properties are located) and the Manchester boundary increase.
Meanwhile, Winfree and James "J.J." Minor III, president of the Richmond NAACP branch, and a handful of other volunteers plan to visit houses in the Blackwell neighborhood with a notary to make it easier for property owners to send an official letter of support or opposition by the Oct. 8 deadline. (Letters should be addressed to Julie Langan at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 2801 Kensington Ave., Richmond VA 23221.)
Though the boards will listen to all comments, Langan says, notarized letters from property owners are the only ones with legal standing. If more than 50 percent of the property owners object, the historic district would not pass. As of Friday, she says, she has received one letter of opposition from a property owner and about eight comments of support from property owners, as well as the Manchester Alliance.
Langan says she thinks the historic designation would be positive for the neighborhood, offering increased visibility for the community, rehabilitation tax credits and limited protection when state and federal funds are used for projects that might affect the neighborhood.
“I’ve reached the conclusion that change has already started,” Langan told attendees at Thursday's meeting. “The question is how is the community going to manage change?” Noting that the Manchester district has 400 units of affordable housing, she says there would be an incentive to develop similar housing in Blackwell if the historic district is approved.
Laura Goren, whose house is adjacent to the proposed Blackwell district, said at Thursday's meeting that she does not think historic tax credits will incentivize affordable housing. She also sent a letter to the Department of Historic Resources in June, expressing concern that the proposed district "would have the practical effect of undermining the historical social fabric of the Blackwell neighborhood even as it enables the preservation and rehabilitation of the neighborhood's physical structures." If a developer scoops up multiple properties and proceeds with rehabilitation on numerous sites at once, she wrote, that "might be sufficient intervention to raise the values and rents in the neighborhood."
In addition to the historic district proposal, speakers at Wednesday's NAACP meeting focused attention on rising property values and the effect of gentrification on neighborhoods throughout the city, urging homeowners to resist selling to investors who will upgrade the property and resell it at much higher rate.
"If you've got property, try to keep your property," Winfree told the group.
"We have to start developing a legacy mindset and teaching our children about property value," added Tracey Scott, the NAACP housing chairwoman.
Minor says he plans to launch a campaign in the next couple of weeks to offer yard signs that say "This house is not for sale" and "My house is not for sale" to residents, especially in distressed areas where cash-for-property signs proliferate. He says the campaign will include a push to educate residents about ways to hold onto their homes, such as obtaining grants to help with renovations and directing in their wills that the property remain under family ownership.
Ellen Robertson, who represents Richmond's 6th District on City Council, speaks during Wednesday's meeting held by the Richmond NAACP branch. (Photo by Tina Eshleman)
Richmond City Council member Ellen Robertson, who represents the 6th District encompassing part of the Blackwell area and serves as board chairwoman of the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund, spoke at Wednesday's meeting about several pieces of legislation she plans to introduce this fall related to affordable housing.
"Whether they vote [the historic district] up or they vote it down, if your purpose and your mission is to ensure that we are building equitable communities so that people have opportunities to live in decent communities irrespective of their income — that's your mission," she told the group. "One thing's for certain. We know that there's no overlay, there's no protective clause written into any of this, as it relates to the historic designation, to ensure that we're building an equitable community."
To that end, one of the measures she's sponsoring would establish affordable housing criteria for rehabilitation tax abatements on residential properties, requiring them to be occupied by families earning up to 80 percent of the area median income. Another would specify that proceeds from the sale of tax-delinquent property would go to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. A third would ensure that any residential development receiving assistance from the city designate 15 percent of the project for affordable housing. A fourth would require private developers who acquire tax-delinquent property in a foreclosure to abide by a development agreement — an effort to reduce the number of properties that remain vacant for long periods of time, she says.
Langan has noted that a historic district designation is intended to celebrate the community's history. In addition to a detailed listing of historical properties, the Blackwell district nomination form includes a summary of its social history, from the post-Civil War Reconstruction era to mid-20th-century "white flight:" and urban divestment, to efforts at redevelopment and the introduction of public housing, and highlights community leaders such as educator James H. Blackwell and the Rev. Anthony Binga Jr.
Besides efforts to address issues of gentrification and affordable housing, a result of the historic district proposal has been a renewed impetus to document the community's history beyond its buildings. On Oct. 23, after the Department of Historic Resources boards vote, the Historic Blackwell Advisory Council will hold its first meeting at the Hull Street Library branch.
Natalie Draper, the library branch manager, says the council came about because of Blackwell residents' desire to preserve the community by preserving its history, and a concern about "celebrating the architectural fabric over the fabric of the community."
Draper describes the council as a community-led oral history and humanities project that may include a walking tour and digital exhibits, which could be activated via an app.
"I wanted to focus on the voices and the people who live here currently and have stories to tell," she says.
At the Oct. 23 meeting, a group of residents will identify priorities and set an agenda. (Those who would like to be involved should contact Draper at the library: 804-646-8699.)
