Story Published: Sep 29, 2009 at 5:25 PM PST
“We really believe that as downtown goes,so goes the rest of walla walla valley. If we are a vibrant and exciting place where businesses and people want to be from here they'll spread out and explore the rest of the valley,” said Dilworth Northam.
The new grant money pays for a new database detailing all the historic properties in Downtown. It's just a small portion of what the city has already invested in the effort. The city already offers a property tax cut for preservation over the course of ten years.
But the effort to make Downtown into a historic district is not without controversy. Some owners of historic properties worry the designation will take away their right to decide what to do with their property. Plus, they have concerns about the higher cost of keeping things “historic”.
The City of Walla Walla hosted a presentation Tuesday at 7pm-- detailing the two hundred historic properties in downtown.
The information will eventually be available on a state website as a database detailing historic elements of each property.
