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With the right programs in place, businesses and building owners can take
advantage of government programs and incentives to maintain and
restore heritage buildings.
Restoration reduces construction and demolition waste and uses less than
half the energy of new construction.
Economic Benefits
Some of the key economic benefits associated with the conservation of heritage buildings include:
The growth in employment in the restoration industry in construction trades, professionals and
product manufacturing
Enhanced municipal tax base through restored individual buildings and areas
Increased tourism
Economic Sustainability
The conservation of heritage buildings is often predicated on their economic sustainability, with the
following important claims:
Labour
Restoration projects are also a boon to the labour force, being more labour intensive than new
construction. Typically, labour represents 60-75% of project costs in a conservation project. For example
the rehabilitation of a historic bank in Neepawa was 62% labour and 38% materials and the restoration
of the Bank of Montreal at Portage and Main was over 70% labour.
A study undertaken by the Government of Ontario indicated that rehabilitation was 66% more labour
intensive than new construction.
Several major government studies verify various preservationist groups' claims that rehabilitation is
among the most labour-intensive industries: according to these reviews, the labour component of
renovation proves to be 1.7 to 2.0 times that of new construction. Likewise, in a 1977 document by the
U.S. Department of Interior, Conservation of the Urban Environment, it is stated that rehabilitation
projects are as high as 75% labour-intensive versus 60% for new construction.
In terms of the actual creation of jobs, testimony by the General Services Administration before the U.S.
Senate Subcommittee on Buildings and Grounds indicates rehabilitation creates two to five times as
many jobs as new building construction.
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Other Benefits
One example of the cost-effectiveness of conservation over new construction was the rehabilitation of
the historic Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Neepawa which was 22% less expensive than an
equivalent new replacement building.
Because the exterior building shell of a heritage building already exists, construction can take place in
winter, and take advantage of more competitive pricing for contract work. Construction also can be more
efficient due to the work space being warm.
Rehabilitation of an existing building can have zoning benefits. For example, a site with a warehouse
building that is tight to the property lines could allow 12 or more housing units whereas a new building
would have to conform to current zoning laws which would allow only a duplex to be built on the same
site (Winnipeg Housing and Rehabilitation Corporation experience).
Winnipeg Housing and Rehabilitation Corporation experience indicates that, because the quality of
materials is much higher in old buildings than in new, the occupants of their units show a greater level of
respect to their surroundings, substantially reducing maintenance costs.
Valueofhistoricbuildings1.HistoricalInteresta.Relationshipbetweenthebuildingandimportant
historicalincidents,periodsoreventsb.Relationshipbetweenthebuildingandimportanthistorical
charactersc.ImportanceofthebuildingtoHongKongshistoricaldevelopmentd.Ageofthebuilding
2.ArchitecturalMerita.Asanimportantexampleofacertainarchitecturalstyleortypeb.The
architecturalstyle,grid,decoration,artwork,technologyandmaterialsofthebuildinghavegreatvalue
tothelocationconcernedc.Theappearanceofthebuildingenhancesthebeautyoftheneighbourhood
3.GroupValuea.Importanceinabuildingclusterinaharmoniousarchitecturaldesignandstyleoras
anintegralcomponentofanhistoricalcomplexb.Importanceinabuildingclustershowingcommon
culturalvalue(s)orbelongingtothesamephaseofhistoricaldevelopmentofHongKong.
4.SocialValueandLocalInteresta.Asanimportantlandmarkwhichhascommonlyrecognised
symbolicorvisualsignificanceb.Hassignificanceintermsofexhibitingculturalidentityand/orin
termsofextendingthecollectivememoryofthecommunity
5.Authenticitya.Ifthebuildinghasundergoneanyalternations,theimpactofthealterationsonthe
historicalsignificanceandarchitecturalintegrityofthebuildingb.Whetheranyalterationstothe
buildinghavemodifiedtheculturalsettingandtheassociatedculturallandscapes.6.Raritya.Whether
thebuildingisrareduetoitshistoricalinterest,architecturalmerit,groupvalue,socialvalueandlocal
interest,and/orauthenticity.
Heritage building means and includes any building of one or more premises or any part
thereof and/or structure and/or artefact which requires conservation and / or preservation for
historical and / or architectural and / or artisanary and /or aesthetic and/or cultural and/or
environmental and/or ecological purpose and includes such portion of land adjoining such
building or part thereof as may be required for fencing or covering or in any manner
preserving
the historical and/or architectural and/or aesthetic and/or cultural value of such building.
Heritage Precincts means and includes any space that requires conservation and /or
preservation for historical and / or architectural and/or aesthetic and/or cultural and/or
environmental and/or ecological purpose. Walls or other boundaries of a particular area or
place or building or may enclose such space by an imaginary line drawn around it.
Conservation means all the processes of looking after a place so as to retain its historical
and/or architectural and/or aesthetic and/or cultural significance and includes maintenance,
preservation, restoration, reconstruction and adoption or a combination of more than one of
these.
Preservation means and includes maintaining the fabric of a place in its existing state and
retarding deterioration.
practices. This does not imply a hierarchy of either practice or site, but provides a rationale
for
encouraging indigenous practices and thus keeping them alive. Before undertaking
conservation, therefore, it is necessary to identify where one system should be applied and
where the other. For this purpose, it is necessary at the outset to make a comprehensive
inventory of extant heritage, both tangible and intangible, and separate it into two categories:
A.i Buildings and sites protected by ASI, SDA and other government or nongovernment
agencies. Only the official and legal instruments of conservation and internationally
accepted principles should be adopted here;
A.ii Other listed buildings and sites which, though not protected by ASI, SDA and
other government or non-government agencies, possessing heritage value or significance
equivalent to that of protected monuments. Here too, the official and legal instruments should
be adopted for their conservation;
B. The remaining listed buildings and sites both modern and historic, including those
produced within the last hundred years. Here, the conservation strategy may adopt either the
official and legal instruments of conservation or those rooted in indigenous building
traditions.
Hybrid strategies, inventively combining indigenous and official practices, can also be
employed
to conserve this heritage category. The decision to adopt indigenous practices should be based
on the availability of skilled and knowledgeable raj mistris. In all cases a rationale for the
decision taken to adopt one or another system of conservation must be recorded.
The process of listing should be constantly upgraded and the list updated in keeping
with the availability of fresh information, financial and material resources, advances in
technology and developments in the understanding of architectural heritage and its
constituents.
Article 7.2.5
To further facilitate its goal of protecting architectural heritage, INTACH should establish
inter-disciplinary Advisory Committees at the regional and national level. These Committees
should act as clearing-houses for awarding grading for listed buildings and sites, conservation
plans, assessment reports, scientific studies, funding proposals, legal and administrative
measures for conserving the unprotected architectural heritage.
Listed Heritage Buildings / Listed Heritage Precincts may be graded into three categories.
The definition of these and basic guidelines for development permissions are as follows:
Listing does not prevent change of ownership or usage. However, change of use of such
Listed Heritage Building / Listed Precincts is not permitted without the prior approval of the
Heritage Conservation Committee. Use should be in harmony with the said listed heritage
site.