Protect Providence Academy

This is pretty incredible. One of the Commissioners on the Clark County Historic Preservation Commission sent this letter to the Mayor and entire City Council. He lays out exactly why the Aegis proposal does not meet the code and why the City should not approve it.   Read the whole thing.

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 histo...

On May 30th, the Historic Trust and Marathon Development unveiled their revised plans for the Academy site development.  The design they unveiled was a bit better; the changes have resulted in design details that are somewhat more respectful and responsive to the character of the Academy. But those changes are also mostly superficial, and do not address the fundamental preservation issues with the proposal.  Arched awnings and black balconies cannot solve problems of incompatible scale, massing and siting.  The design is still one that cuts off important views to the Academy, cuts the Academy off from downtown, and cuts the Academy off from its history. The Trust made a big show of community engagement, but in the end, the Trust addressed very few of the comments they DID receive and certainly did not address any of the more significant historic preservation issues.  More disappointingly, despite assertions that they would explain WHY other options were not feasi...

We've spent a lot of time talking about the Providence Academy building, but it is important to think about the Providence Academy site as well.  The Vancouver Municipal Code states that one of the purposes of the Academy's Heritage Overlay District is: C.  Retention of unique character. To retain, conserve, and improve historical, cultural, and architectural environments attractive to residents and to visitors, thereby promoting the economic health of the City while retaining its unique historical and architectural features.  It's that "historical, cultural ... environments" that concerns us here.  When the Providence Academy site - not just the building, but the whole site - was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places, the nomination emphasized the significance of the site.  According to the nomination: Practically and aesthetically, the Academy grounds were once as important as the main building. They were important because of their...

Thursday, May 31, 2018 @ 5pm Location: Providence Academy The Historic Trust will present the latest renderings of the proposed development, and has said that they will discuss funding options and  answer questions from the community. The Trust says the community will have an opportunity to speak with Marathon Acquisition developers as well. This is the chance to find out *why* pursuing alternate avenues of (preservation) funding “aren’t feasible” and to be able to ask all those other questions that haven’t yet been answered. https://www.facebook.com/events/1111424748998014/?ti=icl

One of the tag lines for the Historic Trust’s proposed development is “compatible juxtaposition.”  Well, as we saw last time we looked at  this topic , the Vancouver Code gives the criteria for compatibility.   A. Compatibility.  To ensure that new development is compatible in  scale , character, and design with existing buildings and with the preservation of existing architectural characteristics of significant buildings in the area. So let’s look at the very first criteria for compatibility:  Scale. The proposed buildings are much larger than the Academy.  The proposed buildings are huge blocks, all mass, pushed to the edges.  They are taller than the academy, and appear even taller since they have full-height walls and flat roofs instead of gabled roofs like the Academy.  The buildings would even project beyond their own footprints.  The fact that the buildings push far closer to b...

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 br...

In an interview with the Colombian editorial board, representatives of the Historic Trust stated “There is no other path, because of the economics.”  As we saw when we talked about the unused development potential, there is a source of funding that the Trust has not pursued.  If there is one, could there be more? The answer is yes. Let’s start with a smaller one.  Even though the Historic Trust is a nonprofit, it still pays property taxes, and has been paying them since they bought the Academy .. to the tune of over $100,000 per year.  Commercial property taxes are based on the market value of the land, which is typically the “highest and best use.”  That means property owners pay taxes on what the land could be used for, not what it IS being used for. That is, unless the land has a historic building on it.  In that case, Clark County has a special program where the land can be taxed at its current use rather than its market value.  T...

The Historic Trust has laid out “code compliance” as a guiding principle. In fact, in a letter to the editor, Historic Trust board member Paul Speer stated: “... today’s plans both comply with applicable municipal code and historic preservation requirements” But do they? The Academy may not be on the Clark County Historic Register - this is why the Clark County Historic Preservation Commission only has an advisory role in this project - but it is in a Heritage Overlay District established by the Vancouver municipal code. That designation carries certain requirements for any alterations to the Academy building, and requirements for any new buildings built on the site. Some of these requirements are very specific, such as restrictions on where buildings can be built. The proposed project would, for the most part, meet those requirements to the letter. But if you aren’t careful when you read the code, you might miss the part that says that code compliance also requires that n...

At the May 1st Commission meeting, the Historic Trust talked about the economic necessity of the proposed development. The deal was presented as the only way to generate the capital needed to fund desperately needed repairs to the Providence Academy site and improvements to the grounds. It was presented as a necessary compromise. But is it? The Commission brought up the idea of selling the unused development potential of the site as a way to raise capital instead. But what is that? Well, it’s a bit of preservation geekery, but it’s also pretty amazing. When the City created the Academy Heritage Overlay District, it built in some basic protections for the site, but it also gave one very powerful tool. You see, every property in Vancouver has a development potential, the biggest building that can be built on the site. That potential is established by limits on building footprint and building height. If you build a building smaller than that, you’ve left some of the development po...

Tuesday night, May 1st, the Historic Trust brought their proposed Providence Academy development of mixed use retail/offices and condos/apartments before the Clark County Historic Preservation Commission for review & feedback. The developer (Marathon Acquisition & Development) and the Pres/CEO of the Trust, Mike True, put quite the spin the “compatible juxtaposition” aesthetic of the proposed development, saying they didn’t want to copy the look of the Academy, but instead to  give “nods” to the Academy through certain architectural details. They pointed out their proposed use of the muted earth-tone color scheme, soldier courses (brickwork above/below window), and the presence of brick/brick details. However, when questioned by the CCHPC about working in more details from the Academy (such as arched windows, panes, etc), the response from the developer made it clear that economics determined the design decisions. After the presentation, the Commission was ready to gi...

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

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.  https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/help-protect-the-historic-providence-academy.html