The best way to save a historic building is to put it to work. We can help with that.

Headed by architectural historian Deb Sheals, Building Preservation is a consulting firm specializing in the preservation and redevelopment of historic architecture. Areas of expertise include Historic Tax Credits, the National Register of Historic Places, and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

Technical assistance for the rehabilitation of historic properties.

  • State and federal tax credits can help make major historic preservation projects economically feasible. We have prepared scores of historic tax credit applications in multiple states and can help guide you through the ins and outs of the various programs.

  • A few well-considered questions will help us identify a restoration or rehabilitation plan for your property:

    • What is its place in history?

    • When was this building associated with historically significant activities?

    • What is left from the period of significance?

    • What elements best express this building’s sense of time and place?

    • Which of those features are most important?

    • How do we preserve the historic character as we upgrade the building?

  • The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation are the guiding principles for state and federal historic tax credit projects. We can help you integrate those standards into your rehab project.

Research and documentation of historic architecture.

  • Architectural surveys provide an overview of existing historic resources as well as historic context and comparative data for specific properties. They facilitate preservation planning and lay the groundwork for future National Register nominations. We've documented hundreds of properties through architectural surveys. Many have been followed with successful National Register nominations.

  • Successful nominations to the National Register of Historic Places obtain official recognition of a building or district’s historic significance. Buildings listed in the National Register are also potentially eligible for state and federal historic tax credits. We’ve prepared well over a hundred National Register nominations for an array of property types, including commercial and residential historic districts, cultural landscapes, national parks, and scores of individual buildings.

  • Scholarly research and the documentation of historic resources have a variety of uses. Special projects we have worked on include historic structure reports for nationally significant properties, preservation case studies for economic research conducted by Rutgers University, and the development of historic context and interpretive programming for the 1872 Neosho Colored School, in Neosho Missouri.

Let’s Work Together