OxfordPress.com

A pair of Oxford commissions held an open house Tuesday, June 24, in an effort to expose area residents to historic preservation and affordable housing efforts.

Members of the Housing Advisory Commission and Historic and Architectural Preservation Commission opened to doors of the Oxford Community Arts Center, bringing citizens up to speed on what both bodies have been working on.

HAPC Vice Chair and HAC member Laura Henderson felt it was fitting to hold an event about discovering new ways to utilize historic properties in the recently-renovated structure.

"We're trying to make people aware that there is a strong movement for historic preservation, restoration and reuse of our historic resources." Henderson said. "This building serves as a great example of adaptive reuse of an historic property."

In addition to emphasizing the city's focus on preserving historic structures, Henderson said HAPC is moving to initiate a way to highlight successful restoration and preservation efforts. Members of HAPC have been working at a historic marker program, though Henderson admitted a few kinks have yet to be worked out.

"We're not sure if the applicant should pay for the marker or if the city will subsidize part of it," she said. "We had a workshop with City Council and they seemed enthusiastic about it, so we are trying to see if the general public would be interested in the program."

Henderson said she hopes to make the open house an annual event, keeping the notion of community preservation and affordable housing on people's minds.

Mayor Prue Dana, who also sits on both commissions, highlighted a brochure HAPC recently produced that provides an introduction to historic preservation.

Dana encouraged attendees to share the information with other community members, calling it "a beautiful way to present our guidelines."

The event also focused on HAC's efforts to establish a housing trust fund, aimed at encouraging people to buy properties within the Mile Square and convert them into single-family dwellings once again. The program will help subsidize purchase of historic properties for qualifying parties, provided they agree to own in and occupy the residence for a set period of time.

Henderson said the goal is not to drive students out of the area, but rather to bring an increased diversity back into the Mile Square.

"We're hoping we can bring back the community feeling to the area," she said. "We want to not only save the buildings, but integrate the community more with people of all ages and backgrounds."

Community Development Director Jung-Han Chen said a trust fund is in place for the project, with hopes concerned citizens will make donations to get the program started. Though no donations have come in yet, Chen said he expects to see activity in the near future.

"We have a long way to go, but at least we have the trust fund set up for people to donate," Chen said.