Riverside Historic District Approved

Logansport’s fourth historic district – and first since the 1980s – has been created by the Logansport Historic Preservation Commission.
Thursday morning, the commission voted 4-0 to create the district, which will now be referred to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Indiana Landmarks and the U.S. Department of Interior for permanent inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
The boundaries for the district are the Eel River on the north, East Market Street on the south, Spencer Park and Cass Plaza Drive on the east and Seventh Street or the existing historic districts downtown not on Seventh Street on the west.
The move makes Riverside the largest of the four districts in Logansport.
While the new designation does not place limitations on property owners, Mayor Dave Kitchell said the aim is to encourage more investment in historic properties through the federal historic preservation tax credit. Commercial business owners and landlords of properties considered historic in the recent inventory by Gray & Pape of Cincinnati can qualify for a 20 percent tax credit on structural improvements that meet the standards of the U.S. Department of Interior. Federal tax credits also are available for historic properties owned by nonprofit organizations.
“What the updated inventory confirmed was that the number of historic structures in Logansport has expanded tremendously in the past 32 years,” he said. “By encouraging development in these areas, we can leverage private investment and federal tax credits to increase our tax base and keep property taxes low, but we also can increase the market value of homes, which for most people is their largest investment.”
Kitchell said he is working with Indiana Landmarks to sponsor a local workshop for property owners interested in securing federal tax credits or being listed on the National Register. That workshop also is expected to include information on the state historic tax credit program for businesses.