News Release
Photo courtesy of Preservation Maryland
News Release Date: September 10, 2024
Contact: NewsMedia@nps.gov
WASHINGTON – The National Park Service (NPS) today announced $12.125 million in Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants to 17 subgrant programs in 15 states to support economic development through the preservation of historic buildings in rural communities across the country.
“The National Park Service helps rural areas across the country revitalize their communities through historic preservation,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “This locally stewarded work supports improvements to historic buildings, preserving America’s cultural resources while benefiting local economies.”
The grants will allow state and local governments and nonprofit organizations to develop subgrant programs and select individual projects in their rural communities for physical preservation projects that will contribute to economic development.
Projects from this year’s grants include:
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Georgia – The Coastal Regional Commission will offer subgrants that support retail, tourism, and home-based business development projects in historic buildings in McIntosh County.
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Maryland – Preservation Maryland will provide subgrants to historic properties that serve residents and visitors in small towns along three historic canals throughout the state.
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Utah – The Utah State Historic Preservation Office will offer subgrants to support reactivation of ground floor and upper story space in historic commercial buildings located in the state’s Main Street communities.
See the full list of grants below.
The grants are supported through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), which has provided more than $2 billion in historic preservation grants to states, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations since its inception in 1977. HPF funds may be appropriated by Congress to support a variety of historic preservation projects to help preserve the nation’s cultural resources.
The HPF, which uses revenue from federal offshore oil and gas leases, supports a broad range of preservation projects without spending tax dollars. The intent behind the HPF is to mitigate the loss of nonrenewable resources through the preservation of other irreplaceable resources.
HPF grant programs managed by NPS fund preservation of America’s premier cultural resources and historic places in underrepresented communities, rural areas, and at historically black colleges and universities, as well as sites key to the representation of Tribal heritage, African American civil rights, the history of equal rights in America, and the nation’s founding.
These grants mark the sixth year of funding for the program honoring the late Paul Bruhn, who served as executive director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont for nearly 40 years. State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, Certified Local Governments, special district governments, and nonprofits are eligible to apply for funding to create a subgrant program to fund multiple preservation projects in their rural jurisdictions.
For more information about the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants Program, please visit https://go.nps.gov/revitalization. Congress has appropriated $10 million for FY24 funding with applications planned to be available in the fall of 2024.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 430+ national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Funded Projects
| State | Grant Recipient | Grant Amount | Subgrant | Project Synopsis |
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Last updated: September 10, 2024