This story appeared in the September issue of PRC’s Preservation in Print magazine. Interested in getting more preservation stories like this delivered to your door? Become a member of the PRC for a subscription!
What do you think are the biggest preservation issues facing New Orleans today? What are your most pressing property concerns as a local homeowner or renter? How can the PRC help?
On Sept. 22, the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans will open its doors to all members for a visioning session, and we want to hear from you. Help us structure PRC’s future programs to best serve you and our city.
Throughout our 48 years, the PRC has a rich history of working with community members in so many ways. Together with residents, we’ve preserved buildings and neighborhoods, helped homeowners stay in their homes, and celebrated our culture and heritage. From signature programs like Operation Comeback and Revival Grants to our jazz historical plaques, which can be spotted across the city, to Preservation in Print, our prized magazine, the PRC’s work has always been broad, as we tackle preservation needs on a variety of levels.
As the city has changed, our programming has changed, too, to stay relevant and to meet the shifting priorities of residents. Now, the time has come again to assess how our nonprofit’s services are meeting the community’s needs. Given the dramatic shifts in our world over the past few years, we must determine if there are innovative or deeper ways our offerings can benefit our members and the city at large.
As we emerge from the Covid era, now is an ideal time to determine how best to support, educate and inspire our members going forward. The shift to virtual programming during Covid was hard, as we love hosting classes, tours and workshops in person, but our growth in digital programming allowed us to reach an international audience of supporters and broaden PRC’s outreach to those who want to learn from our programs but couldn’t make it to in-person classes. Now that the world is more back to “normal,” we want to hear how our members would like to access our content: in-person, virtual or a hybrid of both.
The shifting real estate market also provides an important reason for us to gather now. Home sales and rental prices are at all-time highs in New Orleans, even after a small softening of the market this summer. The cost of real estate has major implications for who can move into, and stay, in our historic neighborhoods. Skyrocketing prices have also had an impact on the fate of smaller buildings in desirable neighborhoods, leading to demolitions to make way for new construction houses that offer more square footage and heftier price tags. This preservation problem has led to neighborhood density shifts, with some residents’ surroundings changing dramatically around them.
With our historic neighborhoods so “hot,” and with a complete lack of enforcement from city government, short-term rentals have proliferated throughout our neighborhoods, threatening quality of life, affordability and authenticity. Can PRC offer programs that could be solutions, or balms, to any of these issues? Can we offer classes or trainings to help people organize or educate themselves to achieve the change they want to see? How can we best serve you if these problems concern you?
Our physical location also will be a topic of discussion at the visioning session. What should our headquarters offer to members who wish to come to our physical location? Is the PRC’s historic building accessible and the best home for the organization’s future?
We want to hear from as many of our members as possible. Please plan to attend from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22 at the PRC, 923 Tchoupitoulas St. Local architecture, planning and community engagement firm Concordia will lead participants through brainstorming on a series of questions to determine how the PRC is, or is not, currently meeting their needs. Only members are invited to participate, so please visit PRCNO.org if you’re unsure of your membership status or if you would like to join.
The past 48 years of the Preservation Resource Center’s history have been so impactful and inspirational, even — perhaps especially – through the hardest of times. And our current slate of programs has seen the organization continue to meaningfully serve residents and neighborhoods across the city even through the challenging past two years. It is so exciting to think of the opportunities ahead as our nonprofit grows and evolves to further serve our city’s residents in today’s world. I hope to brainstorm with you later this month!
Envisioning PRC’s Future — a meeting for PRC members
WHEN: Sept. 22, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: PRC headquarters, 923 Tchoupitoulas St.
Concordia, a local architecture, planning and community engagement firm, will lead PRC members through brainstorming on a series of questions to determine how the PRC’s programming can meet the future needs of New Orleans. Click here to RSVP and confirm your membership status.
