May 15, 2025 - Speak up for Federal Historic Preservation Investment and the Historic Tax Credit

Preservation Forsyth in collaboration with Preservation North Carolina, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO), are urging our members and supporters to take action immediately to help save these critical preservation programs!

Preservationists around the country are learning that the fiscal year (FY) 2026 President’s budget, proposed at the beginning of May, calls for unprecedented cuts to historic preservation funding that, if adopted by Congress, would undermine preservation and community-building efforts throughout the United States.

Adding to this challenge is the fact that FY2025 historic preservation funding, which was approved by Congress earlier this year, has not been released to State and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, or for already-awarded competitive grant programs under the Historic Preservation Fund.

Preservation Forsyth shares the concerns of the NCSHPO about the impact that delayed federal funding will have on administering national preservation programs at the state level. Most states now face imminent reductions in staff if current year funding is not released. The Historic Tax Credit is absolutely critical to the success of historic preservation as a community revitalization program.  In North Carolina we have seen more than 3100 tax credit projects and over two billion dollars of investment in our economy. It is not inconceivable that the Innovation Quarter project in Winston Salem would have never happened without the Historic Tax Credits!

Join the growing coalition of support for historic preservation funding and learn how to take action to protect historic preservation in North Carolina and our nation. 

Read the official National Trust statement here:

https://savingplaces.org/action-center/updates/speak-up-for-federal-historic-preservation-investment?utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=advocacy

Read the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office 2025 overview of private investment since 1976 and county-by-county project financial impact here:

https://www.hpo.nc.gov/administration/2025-congressional-booklet/open

Help us spread the word by sharing this statement on Instagram and Facebook. 

Contact your congressional representative. You can find their contact information here:

https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

And, be sure to take a look at the attached Action Steps document that contains a good model statement to help you prepare your thoughts for sharing with our elected officials:

Action Steps.pdf

Thank you!

April 29, 2025 - Lockland Avenue Houses Update 

Preservation Forsyth members and supporters,

You know that Preservation Forsyth (PF) and the Ardmore Neighborhood Association (ANA) have been working with Atrium Wake Baptist Hospital for almost a year to save ten endangered houses on Lockland Avenue. The hospital had informed ANA of their intention to demolish the ten houses in the two and three hundred blocks of Lockland Avenue in May of 2024. We organized an extensive successful media campaign, and we offered two “Pop-Up” walking tours of the houses. ANA offered a well-attended public information presentation and gathered names for a petition to the hospital. Both organizations also posted updates on their websites and Facebook pages.

The lobbying and education initiatives convinced Atrium to meet with representatives of the organizations late last June. The hospital had been taken aback by the coordinated media campaign and the broad base of support for saving the houses. The meeting produced a halt to the demolition threat, and a promise to reevaluate the situation.

Atrium Wake Baptist reconvened the group of organization representatives in late January 2025 to disclose their plans. They stated that after an examination of the houses that they would demolish four houses in the two hundred block and retain and rehabilitate six houses in the three hundred block for rental housing (a commodity in short supply for hospital staff). The lots created by the demolition of four houses would be landscaped to create a park-like area. Interestingly, Atrium believes this land could be the entrance of the future Salem Parkway Multi-Use Path currently under construction by the city. The Salem Parkway is a greenway trail extension connecting Ardmore to downtown.

Preservation Forsyth asked if the hospital’s evaluation had included a structural engineer, and preservation professionals. When the answer was no, PF suggested that we could put together such a team to evaluate the houses for Atrium. Atrium agreed to the proposal, and PF organized a team that included Rob Kennerly, PE, a structural engineer and David Bergstone and George Edwards, both PF board members, with years of preservation experience. Atrium facilitated the inspection in March, and the report produced by this team is attached below.

Thank you for your continued support. If you have questions, contact us through the website. 

(These reports were submitted to Atrium Wake Baptist Hospital on April 4, 2025)

Final Report on the Lockland Ave. Houses Condition March 4 and 6, v 4 (3) (3).pdf

RobKennerly Observation Summary 3-4-2025 (2).pdf

Preservation Forsyth and the Ardmore Neighborhood Association rallied to save the historic houses on Lockland Avenue and generated a considerable amount of interest and concern. Here is an up-to-date list of our efforts and achievements:

Preservation Forsyth Response to Atrium Plans: 

Preservation News (May 30, 2024) 

A Pop-Up Walking Tour of Lockland Avenue (June, 10, 2024) 

A Pop-Up Walking Tour of Lockland Avenue's Endangered Houses and Petition Signing (July 10, 2024) 

ANA Response to Atrium Plans to Demolish Homes on Lockland Avenue: 

Expect More. - Ardmore Neighborhood Association (June 10, 2024) 

ANA Petition and Update on Change.org:

Petition · Update! We persuaded Atrium to NOT demolish 10 Historic Ardmore Homes on Lockland Avenue - Winston-Salem, United States · Change.org (June 26, 2024) 

Media Coverage Generated by the Education and Advocacy efforts for the Lockland Houses:

WXII News: 

Winston-Salem group hoping to see several historic homes in Ardmore district revitalized (wxii12.com) (June 8, 2024)

Winston-Salem group holds 'walking tour' to show history behind homes in Ardmore neighborhood (wxii12.com) (June 11, 2024) 

Winston-Salem group holds community meeting to discuss preserving homes in historic neighborhood (wxii12.com) (June 18, 2024) 

WFMY News:

Ardmore neighbors concerned over proposed demolition of home | wfmynews2.com (June 18, 2024) 

WGHP News:

Winston-Salem’s Ardmore community rallies to preserve houses set for demolition  | FOX8 WGHP (myfox8.com) (June 10, 2024) 

PHOTOS: Lockland Avenue houses (journalnow.com) (June 17, 2024) 

Group wants Atrium to save houses on Lockland Avenue (journalnow.com) (June 19, 2024) 

Atrium saves Lockland Avenue houses from demolition (journalnow.com) (July 25, 2024)

We have an important update on the Lockland Avenue houses -

July 7, 2024 - As you know, Atrium Health Wake Baptist Health informed the Ardmore Neighborhood Association (ANA) in mid-May that they were moving to demolish ten historic contributing houses on Lockland Avenue. There are fourteen houses on the block, but one is used by the medical school, and three are privately owned.  All of the houses are in the Ardmore National Register District, and thirteen are contributing structures.  That notice spurred a strong lobbying effort from Preservation Forsyth and the ANA to raise awareness of the value of these homes and to push back on Atrium’s plans. Both organizations produced strong position statements that were posted on our respective websites, and PF mounted a very strong PR campaign with the media and organized the Pop-Up Tour of the houses. The Pop-Up tour drew 55 people and great television coverage. ANA also hosted a neighborhood meeting that drew almost thirty people and generated very good media coverage. 

Atrium heard our voices and saw the coverage on television and in the Winston Salem Journal. They reached out to PF and ANA and asked for a meeting, and both organizations sat down with Atrium representatives in late June. We had a productive, and wide-ranging discussion, and Atrium followed up with a statement July 1^st informing us that they are not currently planning to proceed with demolition. They said that they will focus efforts on finding other ways to improve the safety and security of the area. PF and ANA pushed for the rehabilitation of the house for affordable or workforce housing. The Atrium statement doesn’t address that issue, but it does leave the door open to further discussion and planning.

Preservation Forsyth and ANA appreciate Atrium’s willingness to meet with us and to revise their earlier position. However, we still have work to do. We need to continue our lobbying efforts. We need to turn out for the upcoming Pop-Up tour on July 10^th at 6:00 pm--sign-up on our website. We will need to encourage continued media coverage, and finally please follow the PF and ANA websites for updates. 

Thank you for your support on this issue!! If you have thoughts and ideas about the situation, please share them with me.  

George Edwards

Preservation Action Chairperson

TAKE ACTION AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD -

June 10, 2024 - Please call Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and register your displeasure with their plans to demolish historic houses on Lockland Avenue. These houses could have a future as affordable housing for work force employees, interns, and residents. Be prepared to leave a voicemail and call - Facilities Management at 336-716-5439 and Public Relations Media at 336-716-4587. Thank you.

Preservation Forsyth Statement Regarding Lockland Avenue Houses in Winston-Salem -

May 30, 2024 - Preservation Forsyth has become aware that in the Ardmore National Register-listed historic district, ten houses in the 200 and 300 block of Lockland Avenue are threatened with demolition by their owner Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. These buildings have been secured and present no obvious immediate threat. Their removal would be significant erosion of the historic district and residential zoning on that side of the street, across from the hospital's property which is outside of the district.

As in all cases when affordable, historic housing is being removed, Preservation Forsyth encourages finding alternatives to demolition. Preservation Forsyth also offers assistance to find alternatives in order to retain the historic buildings. As noted economist Donovan Rympkema recently presented at the latest Preservation NC conference, modest historic housing built before 1970 is by definition affordable (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAG_wD-kZcw). While the potential future use of the sites has not been presented if the houses are demolished, the continued need for their use as housing in Ardmore is undeniable. In the last four years the Cloverdale apartments in the Ardmore National Register district were demolished for replacement with higher cost housing.

If non-residential uses were proposed for those lots which require rezoning from the current residential uses, that would obviously be resisted by the neighborhood. They do not suffer from obvious neglect and the area has a strong market to rehabilitate existing housing stock. Other communities have worked to maintain existing housing, perhaps best known is Historic Macon Foundation in Macon Georgia, where they worked jointly with Mercer University to rehabilitate existing historic housing stock to help provide housing for its own employees. The annual pressure to find nearby housing for new residents and interns for the hospital should be a clear need that could be met by retaining these homes.

The NC state preservation tax credits for non-income properties would be available to apply toward rehabilitation costs by any purchasers. Or federal and state tax credits for income properties are available, if they were rehabilitated for rental. Preservation easement donations would also be a potential economic benefit to retain the houses.

Preservation Forsyth calls upon Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist to engage in a dialogue with the Ardmore Neighborhood Association, City/County Historic Resource Commission, Preservation Forsyth, and any other interested parties about the future of that historically significant, affordable housing.

The Preservation Action Committee within PF is working with the WS City Council and Ardmore Neighborhood Association; we've contacted the Historic Resources Commission, and we are reaching out to Atrium's Facilities Management to discuss options to save the houses.