Welcome to the Protect Providence Academy Blog

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Our goal is to educate people in Vancouver and beyond about this important historical landmark and the danger posed to its historical and architectural significance by its current owner's redevelopment plan.  Stay tuned as we dig into the issues around this plan and get the information that you won't get from the press releases and newspaper interviews.

Whether you oppose all development on the Academy site, or just this development, here‘s the first concrete step you can take to help protect the historic Providence Academy: sign the online petition. 

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Preservation Issue #4: Compatible Juxtaposition

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Marathon Development and the Historic Trust have used the term “compatible juxtaposition” to describe one of the guiding principles for their proposed development.  It’s gotten a fair amount of ridicule from the public for its oxymoronic composition.  But it is unfortunate for another reason, because it reveals the Trust’s lack of understanding of historic preservation. You see, “juxtaposition” is a term of art in the preservation world.  The everyday usage of the word - to place two different things next to each other - doesn’t quite cover the meaning in preservation.  In historic preservation, Juxtaposition is a technique for approaching new construction on or near historic buildings that is meant to both differentiate the new work while also revealing/emphasizing what is significant about the historic building.  But it takes more than just making the new construction different.  It requires a firm understanding of what is significant about that historic building or site, and the
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The Amazing Mother Joseph

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Mother Joseph did some amazing work in a time when women were marginalized. Really cool history of the Providence Academy and the lengths that Mother Joseph and the Sisters undertook to make the Academy a reality. http://www.providence.org/-/media/files/providence/about/history/providence-academy-18741950-by-sr-mary-claverweb.pdf?la=en And don't forget to sign the Petition if you haven't already! https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/help-protect-the-historic-providence-academy.html
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Other Preservation Funding #3: Historic Preservation Tax Credits

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So far we have looked at two sources of preservation funding that the Historic Trust has neglected in their effort to redevelop the Academy site.  Now, let’s look at a third:  Historic Preservation Tax Credits.  This is one of the go-to sources of funding for major preservation projects like the Academy. Income producing historic properties like the Academy building - most of it is rented out as offices or event spaces - are eligible for a tax credit of 20% of the cost of a rehabilitation project.  The Historic Trust has stated that the rehabilitation of the Academy will cost $15 million.  That’s a tax credit of $3 million! The wrinkle here is that the Historic Trust is a non-profit, so it’s not eligible for tax credits.  Some non-profits would just stop there.  But this is an old problem with an old solution, one that has been well-trod by experienced preservationists.  A non-profit can bring on a for-profit partner to the project who brings cash to the partnership.  The non-
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