[Source: B. Poole, Tucson Citizen] -- Some surprisingly young Tucson neighborhoods are on a path that could lead to historic status -- and to homeowners there getting half off their property taxes. With many of Tucson's oldest neighborhoods already on the National Register of Historic Places, the city is sifting through more than 900 neighborhoods built from 1945 to 1975 -- many of them row after row of ranch houses -- to come up with a short list of prospective additions. Historic district designation allows homeowners to get a 50 percent property tax break if they agree to maintain the historic appearance of their homes and get approval for some repairs or renovations. By examining areas built as recently as 30 years ago, the city hopes to get a head start on picking neighborhoods that might eventually become historic districts. From World War II through 1975, Tucson was "booming," said J.T. Fey of the city's Urban Planning and Design Department, which oversees historic preservation. "About 65,000 units were built during that period."The $57,000 study, which started four months ago and is expected to be completed by December, is aimed at preserving architecture that might otherwise be razed to make way for new construction, said Deborah Edge Abele, president of Akros, the Tempe consulting firm that has narrowed the Tucson field to about 400 subdivisions with 60,000 homes. "These are the teardowns for the McMansions. They're disappearing. If we can get people to think of these as historic properties, we can head off some of that," Abele said.
However bland they might seem, the tract homes of the last half of the 20th century are significant, Abele said. With the baby boom in full swing, construction changed after World War II. Families wanted homes they could expand, so carports were designed to be easily enclosed. Wide streets accommodated the car-conscious adults, and neighborhood parks offered convenient play space for the boomer babies, she said. Tucson builders brought local flair to ranch homes by using burnt adobe instead of standard brick or adding bits of tile roof above porches, Abele said. Not every neighborhood being considered had those features, and many that do have likely been altered, said Marty McCune, the city's historic preservation officer. "Not all of the neighborhoods will qualify," she said.
[Note: To read the full article, click here. Photo source: Gary Gaynor, Tucson Citizen.]
