Preservation Maryland

11/22/2022
By Preservation Maryland

Cemetery Preservation: Why It’s Important + 2022 Workshops Recap

Cemeteries, like historic buildings and landscapes, provide critical connections between our past and future. Cemeteries literally contain the physical remnants – human remains – of our past. Cemeteries are evocative and powerful places that speak to descendants and casual visitors equally. Not only do cemeteries memorialize our loved ones who have passed away, they also hold invaluable social, artistic, cultural, and architectural heritage. Cemetery preservation is not only caring for the material history such as grave markers, monuments, and cemetery structures, it brings the community together to honor those who have passed away and the families connected to cemetery sites.

11/15/2022
By Dana Cohen

Preservation Maryland and The Campaign for Historic Trades Release First-of-its-Kind Labor Study on the Status of Historic Trades in America

 Analysis shows the need for a larger and better-trained historic trades workforce; 100,000 workers needed within the next decade

BALTIMORE (November 15, 2022) – Preservation Maryland and its national program, The Campaign for Historic Trades, today announced the completion of a first-of-its-kind labor study on the status of historic trades in America. The study is believed to be the most comprehensive survey ever prepared on the status of the traditional trades in the United States. While ample data exists for the construction industry as a whole, specific and consistent labor market statistics have not previously existed for the historic trades.

The Campaign for Historic Trades is a national workforce development program powered by the statewide non-profit Preservation Maryland in partnership with the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center. As part of its mission to identify and resolve systemic barriers to historic trades careers, The Campaign sought to define historic trades occupations and ascertain the current and future market need for trained tradespeople. With this new study, conducted by PlaceEconomics – a firm with decades of experience in the analysis of the economic impact of preservation – and the data it provides, the gap between the need for historic preservation trades workers and the trained hands to perform the work is estimated and forecasted for the first time in history.

Key Findings

The portion of the construction industry that is focused on historic rehabilitation is large and growing. Heritage trades make up an estimated 12.6% of all building rehabilitation jobs. Both the number of buildings considered historic and the amount of money invested in their rehabilitation are on upward curves. But there is a serious shortage of workers who are trained and experienced in the historic preservation trades.

• Nearly 2 million commercial buildings, 35 million residential buildings, and over 2 million multi-family buildings—that is, almost 39 million of 96.1 million structures in total—in the United States were built at least 50 years ago.
• Each year, approximately 261,000 of these properties have rehabilitation projects that require experience heritage trades workers—that is nearly 100,000 highly specialized trades workers needed over the next decade.
• In 2021 alone the total investment in historic buildings is estimated to be nearly $37 billion, and that historic rehabilitation activity is expected to create close to 166,000 direct jobs annually.

The rehabilitation of historic buildings is a labor-intensive activity, meaning a high share of the total expenditure goes to labor. These projects create more localized jobs compared to new construction activities.

• For every 10 direct jobs created by rehabilitating a historic building, another 1.8 to 2.4 additional jobs are created elsewhere in the economy.
• On average, for every $100 in direct labor income an additional $186 is generated in paychecks for indirect and induced jobs.
• Additionally, $11.3 billion direct labor income is created by historic rehabilitation activity.

To access the full labor study, visit www.historictrades.org/laborstudy

10/20/2022
By Laura Houston

An Update on Our Historic Property Redevelopment Project at 417 N. Jonathan

The journey of the cabin that now sits at 417 N. Jonathan Street in Hagerstown, Maryland began nearly 300 years ago. In its lifetime it has seen the birth and expansion of a nation, a people’s fight for freedom and the end of slavery, two World Wars, trailblazing movements for equal rights, and the rapid growth of the region surrounding it, all the while serving as a home to families and individuals with their own unique lives and stories to tell, likely including that of the town’s namesake, Jonathan Hager.

Today, despite prior threat of disrepair and imminent demolition, with the help of Preservation Maryland’s Historic Property Redevelopment Program, community partners, and the generosity of numerous donors, the humble dwelling in the heart of the historic Jonathan Street neighborhood continues to serve that same purpose, as a new home to first-time homebuyers.

417 N. Jonathan Street – BEFORE (2019)

Committed to the project’s mission of utilizing preservation to provide owner-occupied affordable housing, Preservation Maryland connected with local homebuyer assistance and education organizations to reach individuals searching for a home within a modest budget. Preservation Maryland prepared an Owner’s Packet with details of the house’s history as well as resources for and information on maintenance of historic homes and treatment of log cabins.

With all the parts in place and through a continued team effort, Preservation Maryland sold the property to new owners. The organization will continue to stay in touch with the new owners to field questions regarding the care and maintenance of the nearly 300-year-old structure.

And so, as home to a local couple new to homeownership and now building equity through this irreplaceable resource, the journey of 417 N Jonathan Street continues …