Department of Historic Resources (www.dhr.virginia.gov) For Immediate Release Oct. 19, 2021

Contact: Blake McDonald, DHR Manager Architectural Survey & Cost Share Grants Program blake.mcdonald@dhr.virginia.gov 804-482-6086

—Grants support projects in the counties of Fairfax and Fauquier; the towns of Ashland (Hanover Co.) and Wachapreague (Accomack Co.); and the City of Charlottesville—

RICHMOND – Virginia’s Department of Historic Resources (DHR) has awarded $53,500 in Cost Share Survey and Planning grants to fund preservation projects in five localities that will use those grants to leverage around $52,000 in matching funds. The projects entail surveying historic buildings, drafting nominations to list districts on the Virginia and National landmarks registers, identifying historic resources associated with African American communities, and documenting a significant Modernist landscape design. This year’s awards for the 2021-2022 funding cycle go to the counties of Fairfax ($9,650) and Fauquier ($18,000), the towns of Ashland ($7,500) and Wachapreague ($8,350), and the City of Charlottesville ($10,000). DHR anticipates that survey projects slated for these localities will result in new or updated information for hundreds of historic properties. Selected cost share projects must meet DHR's survey priorities such as updating older survey records, recording resources in under-surveyed parts of the state, and documenting places associated with Virginia’s diverse history. DHR awards cost share grants on a competitive basis and provides to recipients administrative services for each project selected, in addition to funding. The grant recipients—local governments and planning district commissions—must complete the projects by the end of June 2022. This year’s funded projects will support and enable—

• The Town of Ashland (Hanover Co.) to conduct a survey of approximately 40 properties within a proposed Berkleytown Historic District and to prepare a nomination for listing the district on the National Register of Historic Places. Berkleytown is historically an African American community in Ashland. This project builds upon a cost share funded survey of the district completed earlier this year.
• Charlottesville to conduct a survey of approximately 50 resources within a proposed Downtown Mall Historic District and to complete a Preliminary Information Form and survey report for the district. The proposed district encompasses the pedestrian walking mall designed in 1973 by the firm of Lawrence Halprin & Associates. The deliverables will support the city’s effort to develop a management plan for the Downtown Mall.
• Fairfax County to conduct a survey of approximately 50 properties affiliated with Black history. The project’s scope also includes preparing a report, based on the survey, to contextualize African American history and affiliated resources in the county. The county will use the report to facilitate future local listing of African American–affiliated buildings, sites, and properties.
• Fauquier County to prepare a National Register form known as a Multiple Property Document that would discuss thematic trends that influenced development of the county’s historic African American resources. The MPD would facilitate future listings on the National Register of African American–affiliated buildings, sites, and properties. Project funds will also support the preparation of an initial National Register of Historic Places nomination under the MPD. This project builds upon a cost share funded African American historic resource survey and report completed earlier this year.
• The Town of Wachapreague (Accomack Co.) to conduct a selective survey of approximately 50 properties located in a proposed Wachapreague Historic District. DHR’s State Review Board recommended the district eligible for listing on the National Register in June 2021. The survey will support burgeoning preservation planning efforts in the town and record historic resources threatened by disasters and climate change.

The cost share program was launched in 1991, and to date more than 120 localities have participated in it. For more information about the program, visit DHR’s website (www.dhr.virginia.gov).

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