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Politics & Government

Historical Survey of Shorewood Reveals Valuable Buildings

Several homeowners could be eligible for tax breaks by registering their home with the state historical society.

Results from a state survey of Shorewood's historical potential will be , revealing village sites that could qualify for the National Register of Historic Places and subsequent grants and tax breaks.

Shorewood Historical Society President Karen de Hartog said the list includes several houses. Owners of the eligible houses will be able to choose whether to apply to the register. To maintain the designation, homeowners must keep the exterior of the house basically the same, although they may replace expensive materials with comparable cheaper ones.

"Basically the outside of the house has to be maintained to look like it has always looked," de Hartog said.

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The survey, funded by the Wisconsin Historical Society, also identified Shorewood schools and local businesses as potential sites for the register, as well as districts in the village.

For example, de Hartog said the slew of apartment buildings on Oakland Avenue could potentially qualify as a historic district of the village.

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Depending on how aggressively the village decides to pursue designations, de Hartog said it could require establishing a historic commission under the Village Board. The commission would have a similar role to the Design Review Board, keeping tabs on historic sites and reviewing requests for alterations of them.

De Hartog said she hopes residents support the idea of designating historical places in Shorewood, both for the potential tax incentives and for the value of the preserving and appreciating the village's history.

"Shorewood has a tremendous variety of architecture, and we’re hoping people will come to understand what a treasure that is," de Hartog said.

There's already one sign that residents will be supportive. The reason the Wisconsin Historical Society decided to run a survey in Shorewood was because of they received so many calls from residents inquiring about registering their own houses.

Carol Cartwright, who was contracted to do the survey for the historical society, will explain the full list of identified potential historic places . in the .

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