Do you own a Municipal Historic Resource? Would you like to learn how to obtain funding to conserve your historic resource? The Alberta Historical Resources Foundation operates several grant programs to help underwrite the conservation of Alberta’s heritage. The Historic Resource Conservation category of the Foundation’s Heritage Preservation Partnership Program offers grants to defray the cost of conservation work on Provincial and Municipal Historic Resources.
A grant can finance up to half the cost of conservation work that complies with the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada. No grant to help conserve a Municipal Historic Resource will exceed $50,000 (although most grants are less than this).
The proposed work must preserve, rehabilitate or restore the historic resource’s character-defining elements. The Foundation will also consider funding architectural or engineering studies that help develop a long-term conservation plan. The Board of the Foundation will only consider an application from an owner of a Municipal Historic Resource if:
- The Municipal Historic Resource is listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places;
- The proposed work complies with the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada; and
- The municipality has reviewed the proposed work, certified that it meets the Standards and Guidelines and issued written approval to undertake the project (pursuant to section 26 of the Historical Resources Act).
Although a provincial Heritage Conservation Adviser can help your municipality complete the approval-documentation, municipalities are responsible for reviewing the proposed work themselves. Municipalities have the legal authority to prohibit any changes that, in their opinion, detract from the heritage value of the site. Municipalities are best situated to evaluate how proposed work impacts the heritage value of the sites they themselves designate.
You can find a Historic Resource Conservation grant application package here. Because of the documentation needed, it is best to begin working on an application as soon as possible. The next application deadline is September 1st, but it is never too early to start thinking about the conservation work you would like to do next summer. Applications submitted for the February 1st deadline should be adjudicated before the snow melts.
For more information on the grant programs of the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, contact Carina Naranjilla at carina.naranjilla@gov.ab.ca or 780-431-2305.
Written by: Michael Thome, Municipal Heritage Services Officer
RETROactive 