July 31, 2014 - About 80 people interested in historic preservation attended Tuesday evening's public meeting at the East Tennessee History Center downtown to share ideas on how a new $500,000 City of Knoxville fund could be best used to help save and restore historic structures and sites.

The participants broke into small groups and identified current gaps in funding, discussed what types of properties should be eligible for funding, and talked about how to structure the program.

Mayor Madeline Rogero proposed the $500,000 fund to address some of the City's most difficult preservation challenges, and City Council approved it as part of the 2014-15 budget.

Becky Wade, director of the City's Community Development Department, led the discussion at the July 29 meeting. Her department - which is already involved in preservation projects through several existing programs - will be administering the new historic preservation fund.

Wade pledged to continue to collect and assess the public input, propose a structure for the program in September, and have funds being distributed starting in January 2015.

Click here to view some of the information presented Tuesday evening, including dramatic before/after photos of buildings that have been restored through existing programs.

Couldn't attend Tuesday's meeting but still interested in commenting on the preservation fund? Contact Executive Assistant Angela Ingle in the Community Development Department at [email protected] or at 865-215-2865.