Utah Heritage Foundation

New numbers were announced today on the productivity of investment in different sectors of the economy.  Here’s what was reported:

$1 million of government stimulus or incentive results in

                17 jobs in the green economy

                11 jobs in the military

                5 jobs in the oil and gas industry

This is being touted by the Obama administration as America’s smartest way to generate jobs and move the country forward.  So we in historic preservation ask, what about building rehabilitation?

Donovan Rypkema was here just last month telling us about the astounding economic numbers that historic preservation produces across the country.  Here’s a snapshot of what his presentation included for jobs and household income:

Delaware     $1 million of output creates:

                       9.2 jobs     $344,000 household income from manufacturing

                       11.2 jobs   $478,000 household income from new construction

                       14.6 jobs   $540,000 household income from building rehabilitation

Georgia         $1 million in production creates:

                       3.5 jobs       $245,000 household income from auto manufacturing

                       4 jobs         $255,000 household income from computer manufacturing

                       8.7 jobs      $476,000 household income from air transportation

                       10 jobs        $545,000 household income from poultry production

                       15 jobs        $616,000 household income from new construction

                       18 jobs        $750,000 household income from building rehabilitation

Compare that with what was announced today.  The productivity of building rehabilitation is nearly equal to and in some cases exceeds the green economy.  So why isn’t the Obama Administration equally touting historic preservation?

  Read (240 kB) a two-page summary of Donovan Rypkema’s keynote address at the 2011 Utah Preservation Conference.

Watch Donovan Rypkema’s keynote address from the 2011 Utah Preservation Conference.

Read "Saving old buildings creates more jobs than new construction, saves energy," Deseret News, May 22, 2011.

Information in this article was obtained from this story on NPR.