Jacksonville, FL
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There’s a huge undertaking in the works in St. Augustine to survey historical areas of town, but it wouldn’t be possible without grant funding.
Buildings like the St. Benedict School are part of the fabric of St. Augustine. It’s why people go through great lengths to preserve and restore them.
For Mary Thomas, preserving Lincolnville means preserving her family’s history.
“I was raised here in the same spot I raised my kids and some of my grandkids and some of my great-grandkids,” Thomas said.
It’s why she was happy to learn the city got a funding boost to see exactly what kind of historical building inventory they’re working with that needs protection from disasters.
Two separate grants totaling $450,000 will help the Ancient City survey four parts of town.
Historical preservation officer Jenny Wolfe said it’s a tedious but necessary task.
“We want to make sure we capture that information and understand what we need to be doing at a city-level policy wise to preserve them,” Wolfe said.
The surveys will also help leaders figure out how best to protect the city from sea-level rise.
“We do want to understand how we can better communicate with property owners on what responsible mitigation actions would look like,” Wolfe said.
The grants will help hire consultants to go door-to-door to visually inspect buildings and document each one.
They’ll focus on Lincolnville, Abbott Tract which is north of the fort, Model Land Company which is the area of Flagler College area and the original Spanish colonial area.
The last time a survey like this was done was in the 70s and 80s.
Wolfe said the information they gather will go a long way to securing more funding in the future.
St. Augustine will soon start taking inventory of its historical assets. A massive task made possible by two grants. Next at 5 @ActionNewsJax why the info will be crucial to protect the ancient city against disasters & #sealevelrise @TenikkaANjax @BachmanANjax pic.twitter.com/cv5dIEmnoy
— Lorena Inclán (@LorenaANjax) January 30, 2020
