The investment of Historic Columbus’ Membership has enabled the organization to effectively make an impact on our community through preservation projects, education programming, and community advocacy efforts.  More than $450,000 was put to work last year through grants, façade loans, education programming, and museum projects.  Below is a listing of the work accomplished in FY 2021-2022 thanks to the support of our membership, corporate partners, and private local foundations. 

 

• $173,960 was provided in Façade and Rehab Loans to repair four family’s historic homes.

 

• $50,000 was returned to the Biggers Revolving – Redevelopment Fund through the sale of 2901 First Avenue in Bradley Circle.  $122,951 was invested in the stabilization and preservation of this property.

 

• $36,830 from the Revolving – Redevelopment Fund was invested in the moving and start of exterior restoration of 2807 Bradley Circle (aka, “the shotgun shuffle”).

 

• The Heritage Park and Chattahoochee Promenade Revitalization Project has been unanimously approved by City Council! Our largest revitalization project started this fall and we expect to begin moving the first house onto the former Heritage Park this winter!

 

• $4,000 in scholarship funding was awarded to Eli Hardegree, a graduating senior, in memory of Patricia Jackson Howard.  $48,000 has been awarded in Patti's name. Congratulations, Eli and we know you are going to do well at Georgia!

 

• The Rivertown Play is a new partnership with FabArts.  The play was developed by professional storyteller, Cathy Kaemmerlen.  It will be put into each third-grade classroom. It showcases our community’s Native American history; the importance of the Chattahoochee River; Horace King’s contributions; and our city’s important industrial history.  We have also reprinted the Our Town Color Book so every third grader will receive one when participating in the Rivertown Play!

 

• Historic Columbus has also developed a twenty-panel exhibit called Lost Columbus that showcases the importance of preservation.  The exhibit, on the mezzanine level of the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, was installed in May and will be up until late December.  A second exhibit celebrating our cultural arts history will go up in January!  

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• Providing Rehabilitation Tax Credit consulting work to the 11th Street YMCA and High Side Market.

 

• Historic Columbus has been working with residents of Carver Heights and Amanda Rees to develop the Carver Heights National Register Historic District Nomination.  We have received preliminary approval and the application is moving forward. HCF is funding the nomination and it is our hope that it will be submitted by the end of the year.  As the city’s first post-war African American suburb, this community offered new homes that could be purchased through federal mortgages for Black enlisted and veteran soldiers who returned and retired in the city.  Carver Heights will be Columbus’ first African American National Register Historic District.

 

• $143,603 was invested to maintain Historic Columbus’ three historic house museums – The Rankin House, the Walker-Peters-Langdon House, and the Log Cabin.  Funding was also applied to construct an architecturally appropriate dumpster enclosure to be utilized by Historic Columbus and two adjacent properties in High Uptown. 

 

• $3,000 was awarded through a Virginia T. Peebles Historic Preservation Grant to the Girl Scouts for architectural plans to expand their historic Little House in Lakebottom Park.