Decatur, Avondale Estates Receive Historic Preservation Grants

Decatur and Avondale Estates were among 10 Georgia communities chosen to receive grants for historic preservation projects.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Historic Preservation Division says Avondale Estates will receive $11,500 for the first phase of a citywide historic resources survey.

Decatur will get $10,900 for a National Register nomination for its northeast residential neighborhood.

Regina Brewer, the city's preservation planner, said city will use the money for planning and outreach to residents as it seeks to put that part of town onto the National Register.

Brewer said the designation would be "honorary, not regulatory." If residents want it, Brewer said, "Their lives will not change. What they do with their houses will not change."

Decatur will have to come up with a match of $7,280 in cash or in-kind services, she said.

Historic sites are listed on the city website.

The Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources administers the grants, which come from the Historic Preservation Fund from the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service.