PRESERVATION

EDUCATION

ADVOCACY

A 2012 study by the City of Columbia found that rehabilitation projects supported by historic tax credits generated $90 million in private investment, created 5,000 jobs, and produced $200 million in total economic activity citywide.

(Source: City of Columbia, Economic Impact of Historic Preservation, 2012)
Heritage tourism adds even more value—supporting 120 jobs annually, generating $2.8 million in direct spending, and creating $3.3 million in household earnings each year. 

(Source: City of Columbia, Economic Impact of Historic Preservation, 2012)
In Columbia’s downtown historic districts, property values of rehabilitated buildings rose by 117%—more than double the rate in other areas. Tax revenue from these properties increased by 104% over a decade.

(Source: City of Columbia, Economic Impact of Historic Preservation, 2012)
It can take up to eighty years for a new energy-efficient building to overcome, through efficient operations, the climate change impacts created by its construction.

(Source: Building Reuse: A Proven Climate and Economic Strategy, American Institute of Architects & National Trust for Historic Preservation)
Major rehabilitation often costs about the same as new construction—typically ranging from 12% less to 9% more, as long as demolition isn’t required.

(Source: 12 Economic Benefits of Historic Preservation, Pulliam Building Foundation, drawing on Rypkema/PlaceEconomics)
PlaceEconomics found that 100 jobs in new construction generate 135 additional jobs, while 100 jobs in rehabilitation generate 186—because rehab relies more on skilled local labor and less on material spending.

(Source: PlaceEconomics, summarized in The Economics of Historic Preservation, Preservation Society of Charleston)
About 34% of buildings are demolished for land-use reasons unrelated to their physical condition. In the U.S., nearly 1 billion square feet of buildings—an area roughly the size of Manhattan—are torn down and replaced each year.

(Source: Building Reuse: A Proven Climate and Economic Strategy, American Institute of Architects & National Trust for Historic Preservation)
Research on heritage visitors shows they stay longer, visit about twice as many places, and spend roughly 2.5 times more per trip than other tourists.

(Source: Donovan Rypkema, “Heritage Conservation and the Local Economy,” Global Urban Development)
Life-cycle analysis shows that reusing an existing building can avoid 50–75% of the embodied carbon emissions required to construct a comparable new one.

(Source: Building Reuse: A Proven Climate and Economic Strategy, AIA & National Trust)
Rehabilitation is not only climate-smart — it’s good business. The AIA Architecture Billings Index shows renovations outpacing new construction for the first time in twenty years, a shift reinforced by architecture schools’ growing focus on embodied carbon.

(Source: Building Reuse: A Proven Climate and Economic Strategy, American Institute of Architects & National Trust for Historic Preservation)
Across dozens of studies, properties in local historic districts consistently appreciate faster than the overall market and are less vulnerable to downturns.

(Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation; McCullough Research Historic District Econometric Literature Review)
According to the EPA, the U.S. generated 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris in 2018 — and over 90% of it came from demolition.

(Source: Building Reuse: A Proven Climate and Economic Strategy, AIA & National Trust)
Building construction and operations generate about 40% of global carbon emissions, making the reuse of existing buildings one of the most effective climate strategies.

(Source: The Reuse Imperative, National Trust for Historic Preservation, citing IPCC and building-sector research)
Younger generations are increasingly choosing older homes. Millennials make up 59% of buyers for pre-1912 houses, despite representing only 34% of all homebuyers—a trend echoed in cities like Los Angeles and Nashville, where they are overrepresented in historic districts.

(Source: PlaceEconomics, Reasons Historic Preservation Is Good for Your Community, 2020)
Studies show that the average U.S. residential building lasts 61 years, with older homes demonstrating a steadily increasing lifespan. Meanwhile, global building-lifetime analysis reveals that newer construction—particularly buildings less than 30 years old—has a much shorter service life, highlighting the superior durability of older, traditionally built homes.

(Source: Aktas & Bilec 2012; Göswein et al., Journal of Building Engineering, 2022 and Andersen, R., & Negendahl, K. Lifespan Prediction of Existing Building Typologies. Journal of Building Engineering, Vol. 65, 2023, Article 105696.)
In Minnesota (as a regional Midwest comparison), historic-rehabilitation tax-credit projects filed $209.9 million in planned spending in FY 2022 and are estimated to generate $349.8 million in economic activity and ~1,250 jobs in that fiscal year alone. (Every dollar of state tax credit generated ~$9.90 in economic activity)

(Source: Minnesota Department of Administration, Office of State Procurement and the Department of Employment and Economic Development. Economic Contribution of the Minnesota Historic Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit: Fiscal Year 2022)

Queen City Preservation – Historic Preservation Education & Advocacy in the Ozarks

Queen City Preservation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting, teaching, and promoting the history of Springfield and the Ozarks through workshops, resources, and community engagement.

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WHY PRESERVATION MATTERS

Preservation isn’t just about saving old buildings—it’s about keeping the character, stories, and craftsmanship that make Springfield feel like home. Every brick, window, and hand-carved detail tells part of our shared story. When we protect these places, we protect the soul of our city. Preservation isn’t a roadblock to progress, it’s a beneficial tool towards a better future.

EDUCATIONAL EVENTS
HANDS ON WORKSHOPS
PRESERVATION RESOURCES

ABOUT US

Queen City Preservation exists to address the loss and neglect of historic properties across Springfield by offering education, advocacy, and tangible resources to residents and neighborhoods. Many citizens lack access to the tools, knowledge, or funding to preserve their homes and buildings, and our project bridges that gap through workshops, walking tours, hands-on training, resource guides, and grant navigation. By engaging residents—especially in underserved areas—we aim to preserve our city’s architectural legacy, strengthen community pride, and support long-term reinvestment in our historic neighborhoods & structures.

JOIN US

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A stone church with a tall steeple standing on grass with trees around, at dusk, with a sign that reads "Drury University 1873" in the foreground.

“To protect, celebrate, and sustain Springfield’s historic buildings, landscapes, and cultural heritage through inclusive education, advocacy, hands-on workshops, and equitable preservation initiatives that empower the broader community.”

— MISSION STATEMENT

OUR PARTNERS

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BECOME A SPONSOR

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“The greenest building is the one that is already built. Every building that is allowed to stand and serve another generation is an act of conservation—not just of material resources, but of craftsmanship, memory, and cultural continuity.”
— Carl Elefante, Former President of the American Institute of Architects

“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for, and let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our fathers did for us.”

⁃ John Ruskin

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“Preservation is not about freezing time; it’s about managing change in a way that honors the past and enriches the future. It is about understanding that continuity gives life meaning, and that beauty and utility can coexist in the same space over generations.”

- Richard Moe, President Emeritus, National Trust for Historic Preservation

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“It has been said that, at its best, preservation engages the past in a conversation with the present over a mutual concern for the future. It is not about locking our heritage away in museums, but about keeping the continuum of human experience visible and tangible.”

- William Murtagh, First Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places

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“Old places have an irreplaceable power to connect us to our history, our identity, and each other. They tell us who we are and where we’ve come from. In saving them, we save a part of ourselves—our values, our craftsmanship, and our collective story.”

- Stephanie Meeks, Former President, National Trust for Historic Preservation

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“We will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed. In our rush to modernize, we too often erase the physical evidence of our own story. Preservation is not a sentimental luxury—it is an act of cultural sanity.”

- Ada Louise Huxtable

A 2012 study by the City of Columbia found that rehabilitation projects supported by historic tax credits generated $90 million in private investment, created 5,000 jobs, and produced $200 million in total economic activity citywide.

Heritage tourism adds even more value—supporting 120 jobs annually, generating $2.8 million in direct spending, and creating $3.3 million in household earnings each year.

In Columbia’s downtown historic districts, property values of rehabilitated buildings rose by 117%—more than double the rate in other areas. Tax revenue from these properties increased by 104% over a decade.

It can take up to eighty years for a new energy-efficient building to overcome, through efficient operations, the climate change impacts created by its construction.

Major rehabilitation often costs about the same as new construction—typically ranging from 12% less to 9% more, as long as demolition isn’t required.

PlaceEconomics found that 100 jobs in new construction generate 135 additional jobs, while 100 jobs in rehabilitation generate 186—because rehab relies more on skilled local labor and less on material spending.

About 34% of buildings are demolished for land-use reasons unrelated to their physical condition. In the U.S., nearly 1 billion square feet of buildings—an area roughly the size of Manhattan—are torn down and replaced each year.

Research on heritage visitors shows they stay longer, visit about twice as many places, and spend roughly 2.5 times more per trip than other tourists.

Life-cycle analysis shows that reusing an existing building can avoid 50–75% of the embodied carbon emissions required to construct a comparable new one.

Rehabilitation is not only climate-smart — it’s good business. The AIA Architecture Billings Index shows renovations outpacing new construction for the first time in twenty years, a shift reinforced by architecture schools’ growing focus on embodied carbon.

Across dozens of studies, properties in local historic districts consistently appreciate faster than the overall market and are less vulnerable to downturns.

According to the EPA, the U.S. generated 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris in 2018 — and over 90% of it came from demolition.

Building construction and operations generate about 40% of global carbon emissions, making the reuse of existing buildings one of the most effective climate strategies.

Younger generations are increasingly choosing older homes. Millennials make up 59% of buyers for pre-1912 houses, despite representing only 34% of all homebuyers—a trend echoed in cities like Los Angeles and Nashville, where they are overrepresented in historic districts.

Queen City Preservation – Historic Preservation Education & Advocacy in the Ozarks

WHY PRESERVATION MATTERS

EDUCATIONAL EVENTS

HANDS ON WORKSHOPS

PRESERVATION RESOURCES

ABOUT US

OUR PARTNERS

Heritage tourism adds even more value—supporting 120 jobs annually, generating $2.8 million in direct spending, and creating $3.3 million in household earnings each year. 