Three experts say Aiken would benefit from historic preservation

Sep. 29—Three historic preservation experts said Aiken should look to its past to continue its growth downtown.

Donovan Rypkema of PlaceEconomics, a Washington, D.C. based consulting firm, former Preservation South Carolina chief executive Mike Bedenbaugh, and Aiken native and former Preservation Charleston director Kristopher King spoke about the benefits of historic preservation Wednesday afternoon at two identical workshops hosted by the Historic Aiken Foundation at the Amentum Center for the Performing Arts.

The first workshop began shortly after 1 p.m. when Foundation President Linda Johnson introduced Rypkema.

Rypkema's presentation focused on the general economic benefits of historic preservation. He said historic preservation brought more jobs, resulted in more local businesses opening, that historic areas bring tourists who spend more money, that property values were higher in historic districts, that the walkabilty in historic neighborhoods was higher and that the population density was higher in historic areas.

He said in the United States every 100 new construction jobs result in the creation of 135 other jobs. For historical preservation, he said every 100 historic preservation jobs result in the creation of 186 new jobs in the economy.

Rypkema showed a chart that indicated the ratio of new businesses to businesses closing was just over 1, i.e. more businesses were opening than closing, in Arkansas. For businesses in the districts that received money from Main Street Arkansas, a economic development program that focused on historic preservation, the ratio was much higher, meaning more businesses were opening or less were closing.

He said property values were higher because of the certainty that a person living in the neighborhood has that his neighbor isn't going to dramatically change their property.

Rypkema also said that population and economic growth often returns first to historic districts before the rest of the city the district is in.

Johnson next introduced Bedenbaugh — he said before the event started that he was fifth cousins with Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh — who serves as CEO of Preservation Solutions and previously served as the head of Preservation South Carolina.

Bedenbaugh began his presentation by showing examples of preservation projects he had worked on. The examples included the Palmetto Compress building near the University of South Carolina's Columbia campus that was converted from an abandoned cotton warehouse into off-campus student housing and the Curtiss-Wright hanger at Columbia's L.B. Owens Airport that was converted from an abandoned hanger into a brewery and restaurant.

He also shared his rules for historic preservation. The first rule was that old deteriorated buildings are not the fault of the building but of the owners. The second was that other factors may motivate investors and developers more than a desire to improve the town. The third rule was that dedication and patience are needed to overcome the first two rules. The last rule was that historic preservation requires specialized knowledge that every architect and engineer doesn't have.

Johnson next introduced Aiken native King.

King began his presentation with pictures of several of the unique attractions of Aiken including the city's grid system, its inheritance from the Winter Colony and the "vibrant downtown" that many cities don't have.

King said that millennials, people born between 1980 and 2000, prefer authenticity and uniqueness to comfort and predictability in lodging and places to live.

He also suggested that downtown Aiken could be placed on the National Register of Historic Places which would provide federal and state tax incentives for historic preservation.

The three men then participated in a question and answer session with Johnson asking several questions that the foundation located in letters to the editor and social media posts.

The event ended shortly after 2:30 p.m.

Attendees included Stuart Bedenbaugh, Aiken Municipal Development Commission Chairman Keith Wood, AMDC Vice Chairman Chris Verenes and AMDC Executive Director Tim O'Briant.

A similar event was held at 6 p.m. Wednesday evening.

The foundation is one of the plaintiffs in the July 5 lawsuit that was filed to stop the city of Aiken from moving forward with the current proposed plans for the Project Pascalis downtown redevelopment project. The foundation also requested a meeting with Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon to discuss the project and options for it; however, that meeting never happened due to the litigation.

For more information about the Historic Aiken Foundation, visit historicaikenfoundation.com.