BrainWave supports conservation, restoration, preservation and adaptive re-use of commercial and residential structures:
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Most exterior landscape elements are not QRE. |
Most Historic Tax Credit Restorations center on a single specific building. Generally, these projects do not exten QRE eligibility to the exterior landscape around the structure. In these building-only restorations, the following items are usually not eligible as QREs
An exception to the building-centric restorations above, there are "cultural landscapes" where the landscape itself is the primary focus, or an integral componenet of the preservation-restoration effort. The NPS has guidelines for this type of project also. While the QRE items remain centered on the landscape buildings, there are differences in the consideration of the landscape of the site. What follows is an excerpt from the NPS website...
"Historic Designed Landscape--a landscape that was consciously designed or laid out by a landscape architect, master gardener, architect, or horticulturist according to design principles,or an amateur gardener working in a recognized style or tradition. The landscape may be associated with a significant person(s), trend, or event in landscape architecture; or illustrate an important development in the theory and practice of landscape architecture. Aesthetic values play a significant role in designed landscapes. Examples include parks, campuses, and estates.
Historic Vernacular Landscape--a landscape that evolved through use by the people whose activities or occupancy shaped that landscape. Through social or cultural attitudes ofan individual, family or a community, the landscape reflects the physical, biological, and cultural character of those everyday lives. Function plays a significant role in vernacular landscapes. They can be a single property such as a farm or a collection of properties such as a district of historic farms along a river valley. Examples include rural villages, industrial complexes, and agricultural landscapes.
Historic Site--a landscape significant for its association with a historic event, activity, or person. Examples include battlefields and president's house properties.
Ethnographic Landscape--a landscape containing a variety of natural and cultural resources that associated people define as heritage resources. Examples are contemporary settlements, religious sacred sites and massive geological structures. Small plant communities, animals, subsistence and ceremonial grounds are often components."
To learn more about Exterior and Cultural Landscaping QRE Items, please contact us.
More information from the NPS website on landscape preservation.
