Saving old buildings creates more jobs than new construction, saves energy, says PlaceEconomics' Don Rypkema

Old buildings are the new economy. These days, historic preservation is not just about preservation for preservation's sake; it has long-term economic impact, said Don Rypkema at the opening of this year's Utah Heritage Foundation Preservation Conference.

Rypkema, the principal of PlaceEconomics, a Washington, D.C.-based real estate and economic development firm, spoke at the Salt Lake Main Library on Thursday night, talking about the role preservation plays in sustainable development.

That's a catch phrase we hear often these days, Rypkema said, "but it's not just about adding solar panels. Sustainable development is the ability to meet our own needs without prejudicing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Historic preservation has a central role in all that."

In the past five years or so, "there has been a lot of substantive research in this area," he said, which has identified four major economic impacts of preservation: creation of jobs and household income, increased property values, revitalizing the "Main Street community" and development of heritage tourism.

For example, a study in Delaware showed that rehabilitation of old buildings created 14.6 jobs per $1 million output, as compared to 11.2 job created by new construction and 9.2 jobs created in manufacturing. A study in Georgia, looking at its primary industries, has similar findings. A $1 million investment created 3.5 jobs in auto manufacture, four jobs in computer manufacture, 8.7 jobs in air transportation, 10.4 jobs in poultry processing and 18.1 jobs in rehabilitating old buildings.

As far as property values, creation of local historic districts not only add value to historic homes, but to other properties near those homes, said Rypkema. In Philadelphia, it represented a sales price premium of 131 percent; in nine Texas cities, increased property values ranged from 5 to 20 percent.

In the past 25 years, some $45 billion has been spent in revitalizing local Main Street communities. That outlay has resulted in 83,000 net new businesses; 370,000 net new jobs; 199,000 building rehabilitation and construction projects, said Rypkema.

Countless studies have also shown an impact of historic preservation on heritage tourism. In Philadelphia, for example, it accounts for 45,000 jobs and an annual revenue of $975 million. In Arkansas, 16 percent of all tourists are considered heritage tourists, but they spend 30 percent more than other tourists and stay almost twice as long.

As important as the economic impact is, however, "it is only part of the picture," said Rypkema. "Historic preservation also has environmental and social aspects."