NTLF Transformative Grants
About the Program
A $100,000 grant to the Palace Hotel project in Long Beach, CA supports the installation of photoelectric cells and other sustainability upgrades that will essentially take this transitional housing complex “off the grid”.
Historic preservation is not just an end in itself. It is also a tool to stimulate community revitalization. The Transformative Grant program supports this philosophy by providing key funds to historic rehabilitation projects that will have a significant community impact but that are stalled or hampered by insufficient funding. Through a partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the National Trust Loan Fund awarded $663,000 in grants to nine rehabilitation projects that will help transform older and historic communities nationwide. The program reflects a shared commitment by the Knight Foundation and the National Trust to support reinvestment in older and historic properties as a means to stimulate community development.
The nine selected projects represent more than $193 million in total development costs and reflect a variety of project goals and design. Seven of the grants support large affordable housing projects that create more than 170 units. These units will house service men and women in Columbus, GA, teens that are "aging out" of the foster care system in Los Angeles County, and homeless Native American women and children in Duluth, MN.
“We are excited about the quality of these projects, the historic resources they will return to productive use and the impact these projects will have on their respective communities,” said Lauri M. Michel, Vice President of Community Revitalization for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The projects exemplify core values of the National Trust: that the reuse of historic buildings and reinvestment in existing communities to meet modern needs are key principles of sustainable development.” Damian Thorman, National Program Director for Knight Foundation added, "These projects have the power to create a new sense of place and life in historic areas."
The Grant Recipients
California
- $100,000 – LINC Housing Corporation of Long Beach for the rehabilitation of the former Palace Hotel into transitional housing for children who have aged out of foster care.
Georgia
- $100,000 – Affordable Housing Solutions, Inc. of Columbus for the rehabilitation of the Empire Building into 23 one-bedroom apartments.
Kansas
- $75,000 – Landmark Investment Group of Wichita for the payment of architectural fees, historic district nomination and stabilization repairs for a low-income housing project.
Kentucky
- $20,000 – Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservation for the provision of low-VOC paint for the maintenance of historic properties.
Michigan
- $100,000 -- College for Creative Studies of Detroit for the rehabilitation of a General Motors research lab into a "green" arts education campus.
Minnesota
- $100,000 – American Indian Community Housing Organization of Duluth for the rehabilitation of historic building to support housing creation and the American Indian Community Center
- $100,000 – Aeon of St. Paul for the rehabilitation of a vacant historic building into 67 affordable housing units.
Mississippi
- $25,000 – Biloxi Housing Authority for the acquisition and rehabilitation of the NAACP building.
Pennsylvania
- $43,000 – Wagner Free Institute of Philadelphia for the payment of closing costs and loan interest that will fund repair and for sustainability upgrades for a museum building.
For more information about the grant recipients or the National Trust Loan Fund, please call 202-588-6360 or email NationalTrust_LoanFund@nthp.org.
