Matthew Brown has restored three historic houses in Raleigh, and has assisted with the restoration of many others. He has financed renovation of six houses for affordable housing.
Matthew spoke to City Council on October 8, 2024:
Raleigh’s historic overlay districts are special treasures of our City. They comprise only one percent of Raleigh’s land area, but their impact is much larger. They are beloved by the citizens. They give our city interest and character and beauty. They showcase the best design and craftsmanship and artistry of each generation of Raleighites. They tell the stories of people who lived here in different times. And they tend to be the most diverse neighborhoods in the City. The residents of the historic districts work very hard to make these neighborhoods attractive and interesting and educational for our visitors.
People visit our historic districts every day. Some visitors are from Raleigh, some are from all over the world. Each of our historic districts hosts tours and events that draw thousands of participants. The Oakwood Candlelight Tour, the Boylan Heights Art Walk, Preservation North Carolina’s tour of Blount Street houses, Walking Tours in Oberlin Village, The Oakwood Garden Tour, Raleigh History Tours, Ghost Tours, tours from schools, events in Moore Square, and more. The various road races are designed to travel through our historic districts, so the runners and walkers have something interesting to look at.
Raleigh is about to double the size of our Convention Center. All these people visiting Raleigh want to see something special when they visit. And they do love to visit our historic districts; just ask Kessa Stevens of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
These historic districts were saved from demolition in the past by the love and hard work of the citizens. But now these districts are under threat again. Council has several times allowed pieces of these districts to be removed or upzoned. If Council gets in the habit of doing this every time someone wants to build something incompatible, soon the historic districts will become meaningless. There will always be people who want to exploit the districts for monetary gain. We have learned that someone will soon ask you to remove a part of Oakwood, my neighborhood. Gradually the districts will get nibbled away.
As I said, they comprise only one percent of the land area of the City of Raleigh. We do not need to destroy them to solve our housing shortage. We should instead preserve these treasures for our citizens, our visitors, our children, and our grandchildren.
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