Today we are revisiting Maryland Comptroller-elect Lierman’s words from a 2020 guest blog as she makes a powerful case for the important role historic preservation can play in helping Maryland grow smarter.
The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development announced the second application round of the Catalytic Revitalization Tax Credit program, designed to rehabilitate properties formerly owned by the government for economic and community development purposes. Eligible applicants can apply for the up to $15 million tax credit starting on Monday, October 17.
In 2019 Preservation Maryland’s advocacy team, elected officials, and other stakeholders sought an answer to what to do with large vacant historic complexes in Maryland. A committee was formed and the project team chose three undeveloped historic complexes as case studies. The study included barriers to advance large complex preservation projects and recommendations to begin to overcome them. The Catalytic Revitalization Tax Credit program was created as a direct result of the study’s findings.
Preservation Maryland works to protect Maryland’s unique and irreplaceable heritage while creating a more equitable and sustainable future. We remain at the forefront of the reservation movement, creatively working to preserve place, grow the historic preservation workforce, and effect policy change so our shared history can be enjoyed for untold generations to come. Our newly released Opportunity Report profiles current work and what’s ahead for Preservation Maryland.
In December, the Civil War Trust and Institute for Advanced Study announced a compromise to expand the Princeton Battlefield and provide additional housing for the Institute – ending a battle over the future of this historic site that dragged on several years.
Rendering of Princeton Battlefield. Graphic from Civil War Trust.
While the proposed project, which would have reduced a key Revolutionary War battlefield to new housing, fell beyond Maryland’s physical borders, Maryland soldiers fought for American Independence and shed their blood on the hallowed Princeton Battlefield. As a result, Preservation Maryland made the extraordinary decision to take a stand on this issue and formally announced their opposition to a project that would dishonor Maryland’s Revolutionary veterans.
Under the latest plan, the Civil War Trust, through its Campaign 1776 initiative to protect Revolutionary War battlefields, will purchase 14.85 acres of land from the Institute for $4 million, to be conveyed to the State of New Jersey as an addition to the existing Princeton Battlefield State Park. The acquisition includes approximately two-thirds of the Maxwell’s Field property in questions, along with an additional 1.12-acre tract north of the property that has been identified by historians as part of the battlefield.