By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Downtown Niles will be nominated Friday for the National Register of Historic Places.
Bob Christensen, National Register Coordinator for the State of Michigan Historic Preservation Office, said he will present Friday in Lansing his 65- to 70-page report to a panel with the State Historic Preservation Office showing the selected area of Niles meets criteria to receive an honorary designation on the National Register. The panel will then make a recommendation to the state officer with the National Register, who, Christensen said, rarely if ever does not follow the recommendation.
"What we were looking for was a concentration of primarily historic buildings," said Christensen, who was responsible for documenting information on every building being presented as part of the historic district.
Christensen said when determining if a district is eligible, he looks at the history and architecture of the buildings as well as the historical development of the downtown. There was also an extensive amount of research done on the Kawneer Co. in Niles, and Christensen said its important role in the community was a large part in determining the historic significance of the area.
Such a process is usually contracted out to a consulting firm and can cost in the area of $40,000 to $50,000, Christensen said, however he completed the work in Niles at no cost to the city except the price of lodging and photographs. Christensen said taking on the Niles project himself was part of a new directive from Gov. Jennifer Granholm and her Cool Cities initiative that encourages the state to place historically eligible Main Street communities on the National Register.
"He has done a phenomenal amount of work on this," Lisa Croteau, Niles Main Street director, said of Christensen.
The area Christensen laid out for nomination is a jagged outline that all rests within the larger downtown area between Riverfront Park to Fifth Street and Ferry Street to Cedar Street. Included are all buildings on the south side of Main Street between Fifth and Second streets, and on the north side all buildings between Fourth and Front streets. Plus, the area also stretches to cover the Old Bell Building on Sycamore Street, the Brown home south of Renaissance Place (Four Flags Hotel), the former Elks on Third Street and the Leader Publications complex on Fourth Street.
The designation on the National Registry can benefit the community in a number of ways, Christensen said, including the "honorary value," which is a "useful tool" in maintaining historical buildings, deterring demolition of them and also encouraging an attitude toward downtown of preservation. The designation also helps in obtaining tax credits for revamping buildings in the historic district instead of demolishing them, he added.
A place on the National Registry does not protect buildings from demolition, though a local ordinance can prevent property owners from destroying historic buildings and it also can set guidelines for altering structures in order to keep them historically in line with other neighboring properties, Christensen said.
"In general, we strongly recommend a local historical organization," he added.
Croteau and Niles Community Development Director Juan Ganum said steps have already been taken to establish a local historic organization and preservation guidelines, and Niles City Council has appointed a committee to start the process.
"A lot of people have made a huge investment downtown and you want to be able to help people protect the investments they've made" and not allow neighbors to bring down their property value, Croteau said.