Press Release

Sustainable Historic Home Tour

The City of Tucson’s Historic Preservation and Sustainability programs are organizing a Sustainable Historic Home Tour for Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This self-guided open house tour will feature historic homes in Tucson that have been “green retrofitted” to be more sustainable, while remaining sensitive to their historic characters. Participants will travel to locations identified on a map, where the property owners and volunteers will provide information and tours.

Sustainable Historic Home Tour

“People will not only get to learn about the benefits of retrofitting their homes but also learn about the history of our community,” said Ward 5 Council member Richard Fimbres. “Many of the homes are in my Ward and I am proud that the homeowners have taken these steps for better sustainability, preserving Tucson’s history and our environment.”

To be included on the tour each home must be a contributing property in a National Register of Historic Places historic district. In addition, homes must showcase retrofit treatments that meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and where applicable, meet the requirements of local Historic Preservation Zone Design Guidelines. Also, all homes on the tour must address at least one of the following; energy efficiency, water conservation, use or reuse of responsible building materials.

“This tour supports knowledge exchange about appropriate and sustainable retrofit treatments of historic homes,” said City Historic Preservation Officer, Jonathan Mabry. “This will help homeowners make better choices to increase the sustainability of our community, while also preserving the integrity of Tucson’s historic built environment.”

City’s Sustainability Manager Leslie Ethen notes that “retrofitting historic homes to be more energy and water efficient benefits not only the homeowner through reduced utility costs, but also contributes to Tucson’s quality of life by recognizing the inherent value in historic homes. Also, improving and extending the life of these homes really is reduce-reuse-recycle on a larger scale.”

Maps of the tour are currently available at KXCI, 220 S. 4th Ave. Sunscreen, hats, and walking shoes are recommended for this event.  Please bring your reusable water bottles that can be filled up at the stops along the tour.

Free information booklets that provide Tucson-specific guidelines for sustainable retrofitting of historic homes will be available at each house on the tour and from the City of Tucson Historic Preservation Office website, beginning on Friday, April 25, at www.tucsonaz.gov/preservation/greenretrofitting.

Assistance in organizing this event is being provided by graduate students in the Planning and Heritage Conservation Programs at the University of Arizona College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture.

For more information, contact Jennifer Levstick at (520) 837-6961.