Moe told Reuters in an interview Friday before addressing the National Press Club. Thousands of historic buildings were lost in the 1960s and 1970s during the heyday of urban renewal and interstate highway construction.
People understand that it's part of our community heritage.
Also a lot of these old buildings have character and people are attached to them,'' said Moe. In Denver, for example, the lower downtown area had been brought from the brink of destruction and transformed into a vibrant, desirable place to live and work. The story was repeated in areas of St. Louis, San Antonio, Portland, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Miami Beach. A tax credit granted in the late 1970s and 1980s for the rehabilitation of historic buildings generated a boom in saving old buildings, said Moe. Since that credit was enacted, more than 28,000 renovation projects had been completed and nearly 300,000 housing units rehabilitated.