Rosedale Historic District to be resurveyed

Remona Coates said her family has been in their home in the Rosedale Historic District for multiple generations.

“It’s a blessing to still be around,” Coates said.

Coates said there are a “lot of sentimental feelings in this community” and called her family home “historic,” just like the neighborhood. Coates is a lifelong resident of Rosedale, a graduate of Homewood High School whose class was together throughout their time in the school system from third grade until graduation, she said.

While Homewood continues to grow in different directions, Rosedale is home for Coates and many others.

“Where are we going to go?” she said.

However, Coates said the area is in need of upgrades. Help may be on the way soon. The district will soon be resurveyed, which will help maintain a record of historic structures in the area and possibly make them eligible for grant monies to preserve their historical nature.

Contributing structures are placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a copy of the most recent survey, completed in 2004, shows a description of each property and the year it was built. The survey also provides some historic information about the neighborhood.

Adding properties as “contributing historical structures” could open the door for grants and help property owners like Union Missionary Baptist Church. The church is seeking to be recognized as a “contributing historical structure” to reemphasize that it is eligible for grants, said Eddie Griffith with the Homewood Historic Preservation Commission.

There are currently 143 structures listed as contributing historically in the 2004 survey, but that needs to be updated, Griffith said.

Having such a survey done helps bring awareness to the historic neighborhood, and is important for any historical structures, Griffith said. One of the ways it benefits those structures and their owners is by recording and helping maintain the current use of the buildings.

Councilor Barry Smith said the city is adding to its Geographic Information System maps to ensure the city’s records are complete, and having the study done will also help anyone doing research on the city.

Councilor Melanie Geer said the process is not “easy or simple,” and that while properties listed as contributing structures may be eligible for some protections or grant monies, it would also come with some stipulations and restrictions. Geer said she is still learning about the resurvey and what it might mean for Rosedale. The resurvey is “another tool in a larger bag” the city can use to protect the properties and buildings in Rosedale, if the neighborhood wants to do that, Geer said.

The relationship between Rosedale and the city is “complicated,” Geer said, with residents voicing concerns in the past few years as investors have purchased and developed property along the edges of Rosedale.

Smith said she hopes the survey “calm[s] fears of encroachment” that some Rosedale residents have expressed in the past.

“We are invested in Rosedale,” Smith said. “Rosedale is an important part of Homewood. We want to recognize and maintain the history that is there.”

Smith said the results of the survey should be in by August.