Bradley County National Register of Historic Places* Blue Springs Civil War encampment. Private owner. Address restricted* Broad Street United Methodist Church. Private. 263 Broad St.* Centenary Avenue Historic District. Private. Bounded by Eighth, Harle, 13th and Ocoee streets* Charleston Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Private. Railroad Street* Hair Conrad Cabin. Private. 433 Blythewood Road* Craigmiles Hall. Private. 170 Ocoee St.* P.M. Craigmiles House. Local government. (Part of public library)* Fillauer Brothers Building. Private. Bobby Taylor Avenue* First Presbyterian Church. Private. 433 Ocoee St.* Hardwick Woolen Mills. Private. 445 Church St.* Henegar House. Private. Market Street, Charleston* W.J. Hughes Business House (C.J. Wilson Store). Private. 3202 Ocoee St.* Ocoee Street Historic District. Private. 1455 through 1981 N. Ocoee St.* Rattlesnake Springs. Private. Dry Valley Road* Red Clay Council Ground. State Government.* St. Luke's Episcopal Church. Private. Ocoee and Central streets* Tipton-Fillauer House. Private. 63 Broad St.* Old Main Post Office. Federal government. 155 Broad St. NW.Source: National Register of Historic Places, Tennessee.
CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Preserving old buildings and landmarks can bring a 10 or 20 percent tax break to their owners, members of MainStreet Cleveland were reminded Monday.
State preservation specialists Louis Jackson, Claudette Stager and Brian Beadles were the guests for the local MainStreet organization's monthly meeting.
"The historic preservation program and the tax incentive program are related," Beadles said.
He and Stager work with the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register can be buildings but other structures and sites as well, including commercial, rural and residential districts, Beadles said.
The National Register brings no restrictions to property owners, he said, unless they are seeking federal money or tax incentives.
To get a 20 percent tax incentive on preservation costs, the building must be on the National Register, said Jackson, the administrator for the Investment Tax Credit program through the Tennessee Historical Commission.
But for the 10 percent credit, a building does not have to be historic, he said, although the restoration or preservation work must meet guidelines.
"How the whole tax incentive program came about was that, back in the '70s, when we were going through the oil embargo, we realized it was cheaper to tear down a building and put it in a landfill than it was to save it," Jackson said. "That's still mostly true today. New construction is cheaper than old."
There are 18 National Register sites in Bradley County, including two residential districts. Many are privately owned.
Doug Caywood, president of both Downtown Design Architects and MainStreet Cleveland, conducts tours of downtown historic sites for school groups.
"One thing I would like to promote is, if you have a building that's not on the register and you think is historic, I could help with that," Caywood said. "We need an inventory of downtown to get that designation for more of our buildings."
Jackson also urged property owners to contact his office with restoration or preservation plans.