MILLERS FALLS — Central Millers Falls is set to be added to the National Register of Historic Places, an honorary designation that opens avenues for preservation and development.
The new historic district in Millers Falls would be the third nationally recognized historic place in the town of Montague. Turners Falls and Montague Center both have been on the list for decades.
“Montague has a goal of preserving our village centers. This is a step toward doing that,” said Montague Town Planner Walter Ramsey.
The designations of Turners Falls and Montague Center have been used by the town since the 1980s to support development, Ramsey said, and Millers Falls will likely be similarly successful.
A public information meeting on the project will be held online on Thursday. That presentation is the last piece of the application process before the Massachusetts Historic Commission approves the application, which it is expected to do this July, Ramsey said.
Thursday’s meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Information for accessing the meeting can be found on montague-ma.gov in the calendar of meetings.
The major benefit of being recognized as a historic district is in tax credits that are available for certain kinds of real estate development, Ramsey explained.
In fact, while the town has been in the application process over the past seven years, a few development projects in Millers Falls have already found that they were eligible for tax credits, amounting to about $300,000 the federal government has effectively granted to development in the village, Ramsey said.
“Just the fact that we’ve been in this nomination process has enabled those funds to be invested in Millers,” Ramsey said. “It’s already been a huge success. We hope to see it follow suit as other properties are rehabilitated over time.”
Beyond tax benefits, the designation is essentially honorary, Ramsey said. It establishes that Millers Falls has historic architecture, and that there are historically interesting places in the village. He said those recognitions often help to generate development and improve an area’s reputation as a good place to live or run a business.
Ramsey added that new signs indicating that Millers Falls is a historic district are being discussed by the Montague Historical Commission.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.