Downtown revitalization is not about "making buildings cute," according to Don Rypkema, an expert in the economics of preserving historic structures. Instead, it is about making good use of scarce resources. Adaptive reuse of buildings that might otherwise be called functionally obsolete is economically rational, environmentally sensitive, and sustainable, he said.
An author and the president of Heritage Strategies International, Rypkema was invited to the city by Downtown Wilmington and the Historic Wilmington Foundation. He toured the downtown and met with community leaders Thursday before giving a presentation on the benefits of historic preservation.
Rypkema said downtown revitalization is important to economic development because rehabilitating buildings provides jobs, in a higher proportion of labor to cost than new construction, and the workers spend money locally. It also spurs more revitalization around it. The vast majority of downtown businesses are local and small, which do a better job of keeping people employed than big firms, he said.
Protecting downtown heritage advances every principle of smart growth, he said, including walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, distinctive character, collaborative efforts by stakeholders and concentration of transportation options.
Downtowns are also where infrastructure is concentrated, making revitalization cheaper and more efficient than sprawling outward. But the revitalization also helps attract industrial development, even in suburban business parks, Rypkema said, since thriving downtowns boost institutional leadership and quality of life. Also, suburbs are homogeneous, but historic buildings help differentiate a town.
Rypkema urged "sensible land-use regulations" to discourage urban sprawl and encourage revitalization. Property-rights advocates have loud voices, but with rights come responsibilities to the community, he said. Through zoning and planning, a community can make doing the right thing easy and doing the wrong thing hard and expensive.
Rypkema said construction debris constitutes a quarter of materials dumped in landfills, and it makes more sense to reuse historic buildings. Asked about green growth, he said green energy standards don't consider construction or demolition costs, which can far outweigh annual usage.
Rypkema said Wilmington had "block after block of great buildings," not just monumental ones, but a "context of urban character." With the vacant lots he saw, the city also has "extraordinary opportunity to accommodate growth."
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