The City of Tucson’s Historic Preservation and Sustainability programs are organizing the Sustainable Historic Home Tour on April 26, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This self-guided open house tour will feature historic homes in Tucson that have been “green retrofitted” to be more sustainable, while remaining sensitive to their historic characters.
Participants will travel to locations identified on a map, where the property owners and volunteers will provide information and tours.
As the City sinks deeper into debt, it actually employs a Sustainability Manager. Sustainability Manager Leslie Ethen notes that “retrofitting historic homes to be more energy and water efficient benefits not only the homeowner through reduced utility costs, but also contributes to Tucson’s quality of life by recognizing the inherent value in historic homes. Also, improving and extending the life of these homes really is reduce-reuse-recycle on a larger scale.”
City staff is still enlisting homes for the tour. To be included on the tour each home must be a contributing property in a National Register of Historic Places historic district. In addition, homes must showcase retrofit treatments that meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and where applicable, meet the requirements of local Historic Preservation Zone Design Guidelines.
“This tour supports knowledge exchange about appropriate and sustainable retrofit treatments of historic homes,” said City Historic Preservation Officer, Jonathan Mabry, “This will help homeowners make better choices to increase the sustainability of our community, while also preserving the integrity of Tucson’s historic built environment.”
Maps of the tour will be available at KXCI, 220 S. 4th Avenue, beginning on April 21. Sunscreen, hats, and walking shoes are recommended for this event. Please bring your reusable water bottles that can be filled up at the stops along the tour.
Free information booklets that provide Tucson-specific guidelines for sustainable retrofitting of historic homes will be available at each house on the tour and from the City of Tucson Historic Preservation Office beginning April 25 at www.tucsonaz.gov/preservation/greenretrofitting.
Assistance in organizing this event is being provided by graduate students in the Planning and Heritage Conservation Programs at the University of Arizona College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture. For more information contact Jennifer Levstick at (520) 837-6961.