Scott Wartman

swartman@enquirer.com

People over the next year will walk the streets of Newport's Buena Vista neighborhood researching the architecture and history of more than 1,000 homes.

If all goes well, this will lead to the first national historic district on Newport's west side. That, residents hope, could jump start a rehab boom to the neighborhood's old homes similar to what happened in Newport's east side 20 years ago.

A $20,000 grant from the Kentucky Heritage Council, which is responsible for inventorying the state's historic sites, will pay for the surveying of Newport's Buena Vista neighborhood.

The Buena Vista neighborhood is located just below the hill overlooking the river valley in Newport's west side. The historic district boundaries would extend from 12th Street north to Eighth Street and from York Street west to Brighton Street. After the surveying process is done, there'll be a file on every home's history, owners and architecture, said Scott Clark, Newport's historic preservation officer.

"The goal after the survey is to not only to have a National Register district, but to make that information available to the citizens," Clark said.

It's the first step into making the neighborhood into a National Historic District next year.

It would be Newport's eighth historic district but the first on the west side of the city.

The west side of Newport has the city's oldest homes, many in need of attention; it has a higher poverty rate, with 40 percent of the population under the poverty level, according to 2014 U.S. Census estimates. The east side has poverty levels ranging from seven to 13 percent.

Kate and Micky McElwain previously lived in the East Row in the 1980s and 1990s and moved back a year ago to the Buena Vista neighborhood. Kate McElwain described Newport's East Row neighborhood in the 1970's and 1980's as a rundown sea of concrete.

"With preservation, we now have a beautiful neighborhood on the east side," she said. "What we're hoping is the same thing will happen on the west side, where you have trees, where people take pride in their homes, where people have house tours and garden tours."

National historic districts can promote rehabilitation of properties by making them eligible for historic tax credits to rehab homes, Clark said. The districts don't impose restrictions automatically, but people who rehab properties must follow historic guidelines to get credits.

The survey will start in June. The grant will pay for a historic preservation specialist to supervise a group of volunteers doing the research and i

"We're fortunate to have such a rich history that we can preserve," Clark said.

To volunteer for the survey and historic district effort, contact Scott Clark, 859-655-6347 or sclark@newportky.gov.

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