AIA CONTEXT Summer 2018 - Revisiting Halo

In Front of Philadelphia Masjid Sister Clara Muhammad School

PHOTO: CHRIS KENDIG

REVISITING HALO: ECONOMIC IMPACT OF SACRED PLACES/CIVIC SPACES

BY LEE HUANG

26  SUMMER 2018 | context | AIA Philadelphia

OPINION Philadelphia is an old city. Which means we have a lot of buildings from a lot of different architectural eras.

Some have been lost forever. Some are crumbling. Others have been beautifully maintained. Together, they are more than what the city looks like physically. Rather, they are the fabric, character, and spirit of this great city.

There is something particularly special about our historic religious buildings. Consider the purposes behind their design. Upward, to give glory to and establish connection with the divine. Inward, to serve as a hallowed space for a particular group to gather. And outward, to express to and invite in the outside world. These are honorable uses that are good for our soul because of what they point to and represent.

So historic sacred places matter. We inherently accept their worth.

So why do we have to assign an economic value to them? Doesn’t it feel unseemly to do so? Ah, but making the economic case for historic religious buildings is an important part of allowing those structures to fulfill their initially intended purposes, as well as of making possible their preservation for our enjoyment and our city’s edification.

One definition of economics is that it concerns itself with the optimal allocation of scarce resources for the greatest good. In a living and breathing city, which contains lots of people who have different preferences, we can all agree on the “scarce resources” part but we don’t always share the same perspective when it comes to “optimal allocation” or “greatest good.” For example, you can have a willing buyer and a willing seller who are ready to transact on a property, or an owner who has a plan for a site and sufficient resources to carry out that plan, and yet there are many other parties who have a stake and who therefore want to weigh in on that transaction or plan: immediate neighbors, preservation advocates, economic developers, municipal government, and so on. And so part of making the case for preservation of historic religious buildings is economic: what value is produced – to the owner, to the community, and to the city as a whole – when a structure is preserved?

To answer that question, I commend to you “The Economic Halo Effect of Historic Sacred Places,” a report written by Partners for Sacred Places which estimated the value produced by historic religious buildings in Chicago, Fort Worth, and Philadelphia. That halo effect adds up to an average of $1.7 million in economic value per congregation, and comes in many forms: • Historic sacred places were used to care for and educate local kids • Historic sacred places hosted numerous social services, including therapy, marriage counseling, and tutoring • Many congregations took on roles similar to that of community development corporations, such as job training, economic development projects, and affordable housing provision

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Congregations invested in recreational amenities that were available to the broader community, such as green space and playground equipment • Congregations activated volunteer labor to provide a wide range of services to the local community • Historic religious buildings hosted a wide range of events that drew people into the area to enrich the immediate local economy in a variety of spending categories (e.g. food, retail, gas) Looking ahead, older post-industrial cities like Philadelphia are all contemplating how to adapt and grow, and how to do so in ways that are as equitable as possible in terms of the distribution of the benefits of adaptation and growth. To be sure, change is hard, but it is necessary, because the world moves fast and the alternative to adapting is getting left behind. And, to be sure, growth can be scary, but grow we must, for public sector costs are rising whether we grow or not, so the alternative to growing our base is either raising our taxes or cutting our services.

So the question is not whether to adapt and grow or not, but how to do so in ways that are effective and that are equitable. Easier said than done. But one thing’s for sure: preservation of historic religious buildings must be part of the plan. Here’s two reasons why.

First, we know that what people want is real, authentic places, places with history and character and soul. I am no longer envious of newer cities that have experienced recent growth, because I no longer think their future is very bright. Rather, where growth wants to be is in places like Philadelphia. But how can Philly be Philly if what makes it so is eroded or eliminated? Preservation of historic sacred places is what makes Philly the kind of place I am bullish about in terms of producing and attracting growth.

Second, I may be one of the most cold-blooded capitalists around, yet even I acknowledge that there are limits to markets. Markets can accomplish a lot of things, including spur growth. But they cannot by themselves ensure that that growth leaves no one behind. That’s where congregations in historic religious buildings come in. They are anchored in history and in the divine. And they exist in part to serve others, to “be a good neighbor,” and to pay particular attention to those who are neglected and downtrodden. We need to save our historic sacred places because they are part of the soul of the city. n Lee Huang, is a Senior Vice President and Principal of Econsult Solutions.

AIA Philadelphia | context | SUMMER 2018 27

THIS ARTICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED IN THE SUMMER 2018 ISSUE OF AIA PHILADELPHIA’S CONTEXT MAGAZINE

Sacred Places/Civic Spaces is a partnership between the Community Design Collaborative and Partners for Sacred Places to re-envision underutilized, purpose built religious properties as community hubs. The eighteen-month community-engaged design initiative is underwritten by the William Penn Foundation.

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