Au Sable Forks Historic District now formed

AU SABLE FORKS | On Dec. 4, a portion of the hamlet in the Town of Jay was officially added to the New York State Historic Register. This new district includes around 100 historic buildings, from the Graves Mansion on Church Lane and the Tahawus Cultural Center on Main Street to several homes built after the 1925 fire that virtually destroyed the entire business section on the Essex County side. Residential, commercial, and municipal owners in this district are now eligible for tax credits and funding for structural repairs and interior improvements. Those within the district must spend at least $5,000 on qualified work, and 5% of the total project cost must be allocated to the building exterior, including siding, roof, windows, doors, and porches. There is a $25,000 credit limit per person per tax filing, equal to 20% of the $125,000 project limit. "It opens those in the community up to incentives and opportunities so that they can keep their property up-to-date," said Town of Jay Supervisor Matt Stanley about the National Register that does not restrict a property owner's ability to remodel, alter, paint, manage, subdivide, sell, or even demolish a building. "At the end of the day, the end goal, however, is to make sure the historical significance of the building remains intact." Passed in 1966, the National Historic Preservation Act was intended to acknowledge the value of resources essential to the nation's heritage and to help protect them from state and federal development projects. Currently, New York State leads the nation in listings on the national register, with over 7,000 sites designated. Discussions about Au Sable Forks becoming a historic district — a group of buildings, structures, and sites that are significant for their historical and physical relationships to one another — were first raised as part of the 2005 downtown revitalization plan. The town eventually decided to work with Town Historian Sharron Hewston to apply for a Preserve New York grant to become one. "We unfortunately did not get awarded for the grant," Stanley said. "So, the project went dormant for a couple of years until it was brought back up in our main street revitalization." Thanks to the Cloudsplitter Foundation, the town reapplied for the grant, and this time it was successful. The town then issued a bid and hired Adirondack Architectural Heritage to assist with its state application for designation as a historic district. In October, the Town of Jay held a public information meeting about the proposed Au Sable Forks Historic District. Representatives from the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) led the meeting. They shared the benefits of becoming a historic district. The Town of Jay is now applying to the national registry for additional federal tax credits. To learn more about these programs, call 518-268-2464, email leslie.krupa@parks.ny.gov, or visit parks.ny.gov/preservation/programs/tax-credit.

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Au Sable Forks Historic District now formed

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