National Park Service eyes Downtown Tupelo Historic District expansion

TUPELO — The National Park Service is looking to add more of Downtown Tupelo to the National Register of Historic Places, including a handful of buildings in the area south of North of Mill Village.

The city has been in contact with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, a statewide agency that falls under the umbrella of the National Park Service, to expand the federal district of Tupelo’s historic downtown area to include about four blocks south of Clark Street, where the current border lies.

Doyce Deas, of the Tupelo Historic Preservation Society, said it was the Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association’s intent to include this area in 2014, when downtown was originally designated a historic district, but it was left out mistakenly. Working alongside Development Services Director Tanner Newman and the Tupelo Planning Committee, Deas began the process of amending that error.

Under the proposed expansion, out of the 18 buildings in the area, eight will be counted as contributing to the historic district. This would include properties such as the Gravlee Lumber, Tupelo Oil and Gin Company, and the Garner-Watson building. The city currently owns Gravlee Lumber and is looking to sell it for redevelopment.

“That is a very historic piece of property, and we just can’t lose it,” Deas said of Gravlee Lumber.

City Attorney Ben Logan said there were two prospective buyers for Gravlee, and one of the two expressed interest in adding the building to the National Register. The other prospective buyer, he said, was “ambivalent” to the idea.

“We are the owner of Gravlee; we are trying to market it,” Logan said. “It has some history to it. It also needs some work.”

Logan said the city is waiting on the potential buyers to complete their appraisals and deliver letters of intent. He noted the city still has the option to demolish the building if neither of these deals goes through.

The expansion of the federal district comes with incentives, including 25% off of state taxes and 20% off of federal taxes, according to National Register Coordinator James Bridgforth, who was the lead on the project for MDAH.

“(The tax credit) is a wonderful way to make projects like this feasible,” Deas said. “Often, the condition of the building and work that needs to be done is substantial and these tax credits make it feasible.”

Bridgforth said expects a response from the National Park Service by the end of January or early February.

The Historic District differs from city designated overlays like the Mill Village overlay or Historic Downtown Overlay, in that the city has the power to govern the design and historic makeup of the buildings.

“They play off each other, but they are not the same,” Bridgforth said. “(The expansion) is not going to cause any more restrictions because the restrictions come from the city.”

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