National Park Service Awards $9.7 Million for HBCU Historic Structure Preservation

The National Park Service (NPS) announced $9.7 million in grant awards to assist 20 preservation projects in 10 states for historic structures on campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

“These grants enable the historic educational institutions to preserve the story of African American education and the campuses where that continues to happen,” said NPS Deputy Director Shawn Benge. Since the 1990s, the National Park Service has awarded more than $77 million in grants to over 65 of the remaining active HBCUs. Congress appropriates funding for the program through the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). The HPF uses revenue from federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf, providing assistance for a broad range of preservation projects without expending tax dollars.

Projects funded by these grants will support the physical preservation of National Register listed sites on HBCU campuses to include historic districts, buildings, sites, structures, and objects. Eligible costs include pre-preservation studies, architectural plans and specifications, historic structure reports, and the repair and rehabilitation of historic properties according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Projects receiving grants this year will preserve stories, resources, and places like the Centennial Hall at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, FL, the Antisdel Chapel at Benedict College in Columbia, SC, and Hermitage Hall at St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, NC.

Congress has appropriated $10 million in funding for this grant program in Fiscal Year 2021. Applications will be available Winter 2021. All applications must be made through grants.gov.