Emerging Exchange District could help spur more housing conversions in historic Downtown buildings

The Boston Landmarks Commission is proposing the establishment of a new National Register Historic District in Downtown Boston, called the Exchange District, with the goals of celebrating the area’s extraordinary history and architecture, and bringing important financial incentives to building redevelopment. 

The Boston Landmarks Commission is proposing the establishment of a new National Register Historic District in Downtown Boston, called the Exchange District, with the goals of celebrating the area’s extraordinary history and architecture, and bringing important financial incentives to building redevelopment.

The proposed Exchange District in Downtown Boston is a collection of over 40 buildings centered at the intersection of Devonshire and Water streets. This area is pivotal to  Boston’s history as the epicenter of the region’s financial, commercial, and industrial sectors. By the late 19th century, Boston had the second largest port in the country and supported the wool, shoe, and leather industries within Massachusetts and New England. Financial institutions and insurance companies gravitated to the area due to the surge in commerce and economic activity. By 1900, Boston’s economy was based on sales and finance for manufacturers across the region, instead of manufacturing like other Massachusetts cities and towns. Many New England companies chose this area, with Boston’s first skyscrapers, to establish their headquarters or major branches.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the country’s historic places worthy of preservation. The National Register of Historic Places was established in 1966 by the National Historic Preservation Act, and is overseen by the National Park Service.  It is part of a national program to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources. It has long been recognized as the gold standard for honoring historic buildings across the United States. Boston has many National Register-listed districts in Downtown Boston, including the Custom House National Register District and the Bulfinch Triangle Historic District, along with numerous other buildings that are listed individually in the National Register.

The architecture of the district encompasses a large collection of late 19th and early 20th century ‘skyscrapers’. Most buildings in the area are between 6 and 12 stories – tall for their time – while some rise even higher. These tall steel-framed buildings were accessed via then- revolutionary elevator! There are a range of architectural styles, with a high concentration of Beaux Arts and Second Renaissance Revival buildings. The buildings within the area are examples of the distinctive characteristics of their type, period, method of construction, and style. The light-colored masonry, along with the uniform scale, style and materials of the district’s buildings provide a cohesive streetscape that offers a feeling of permanence and authenticity.  

The proposed Exchange National Register District also includes the historic Kirstein Memorial Library where the Office of Historic Preservation and the Boston Landmarks Commission's  offices were previously located. Built in 1930, the building played a significant role in the civic life of the historic district, as the Boston Public Library system’s only branch devoted to business and finance.    

Why is the City interested in having buildings and historic districts within its borders? National Register designation automatically creates eligibility for the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Tax Credit, and the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits in instances where the buildings are undergoing substantial redevelopment.  The two layers of credits can cover as much as 40% of capital costs in a preservation-oriented rehabilitation, helping to reduce the costs for retrofits, conversions and restoration. Already, many of the developers and owners involved in projects using the Boston Planning Department’s Office to Residential Conversion Program are leveraging historic tax credits to revitalize underutilized historic buildings for energy efficient affordable housing in and around downtown Boston. Many other properties are using these tax credits throughout the city’s neighborhoods. 

Activating historic buildings through new uses, such as conversion to much-needed residential units, will once again bring a level of investment to the historic buildings in the area. These investments will also make Boston’s historic buildings more energy efficient and resilient to climate change.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Exchange District nomination over the coming months, and for more profiles of the projects that are deploying historic tax credits to bring new levels of investment to some of the city’s most important buildings.

Above: Boston Public Library. Kirstein Branch. 1930. (Photo Courtesy of Digital Commonwealth).