Title
Ordinance Designating Groome-Shevel Building Owned by ZCD LLC a Guilford County Historic Landmark
Body
Council Priorities: Create an Environment to Promote Economic Development Opportunities and Job Creation; Maintain Infrastructure and Provide Sustainable Growth Opportunities
Department: Planning
Council District: 2
Public Hearing: Yes
Advertising Date/By: October 3 and October 10, 2019/Planning Department
Contact 1 and Phone: Sue Schwartz, Ext 2149
Contact 2 and Phone: Russ Clegg, Ext 2211
PURPOSE:
A public hearing is required in order to consider the Landmark application for Groome-Shevel Building, 532-536 South Elm Street.
BACKGROUND:
The City has received a recommendation from the Guilford County Historic Preservation Commission for designation of the Groome-Shevel Building as a Historic Landmark. The designation will include the exterior façades of the building and interior features such as wood flooring, bead board ceilings, post-and-beam structural components, and trimwork.
Constructed around 1897, the Groome-Shevel Building is a contributing structure in the Downtown Greensboro National Register Historic District. The district is a key element of Greensboro’s unique identity and an attraction for economic development and tourism. The building is significant because it housed a number of early Greensboro businesses including the Lundsford Richardson Drug Company. It was renovated in 2016-2017 according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and serves as an excellent example for other historic building owners.
Landmark designation provides protection for the historic property through the Certificate of Appropriateness process. In return, the owner is eligible for up to a 50% deferral of City and County property taxes. The property tax savings is seen as a way to offset the high cost of restoring and maintaining historic buildings. Landmark designation helps preserve Greensboro’s irreplaceable historic resources while adding to our reputation as a heritage tourism destination.
BUDGET IMPACT:
The tax deferral would be calculated based on the percentage of the building that is designated. The tax value of the property is $999,900.
RECOMMENDATION / ACTION REQUESTED:
The Planning Department recommends and requests approval of the ordinance designating the Groome-Shevel Building as a Historic Landmark.