Broadmoor Historic District
Historic Neighborhood after 50 years
On February 18, 2021, the Broadmoor Historic District was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C., capping over a decade of effort to make that happen.
The Broadmoor subdivision of the late 1940s and early 1950s was a very notable early residential development in post-World War II Tucson, bringing, for the first time, design features to middle class home buyers that previously had only been available in upper class developments. In 2015, the City of Tucson’s Historic Preservation Office compiled a list of all post-war neighborhoods that might be considered for historic status, and ranked Broadmoor-Broadway Village in the top 10 of the most likely to successfully gain it. Starting in 2016, we began in earnest to develop the required “historic district nomination” to make historic status a reality.
Note that our district is titled the “Broadmoor Historic District”. The houses along Country Club Road that were part of the Broadway Village development unfortunately had to be excluded from the nomination because of the differences in design, style, and neighborhood structure when they were built.
Here's a more detailed explanation of the scope decision, and a full recap of the Project's history.
Why Get Historic Designation?
Reasons for interest in Historic Designation included recognition of our early history, providing a measure of protection for the neighborhood against unwanted or uncontrolled development, achieving a level of real estate attractiveness that tends to bring increases in demand and property values, and a very significant (approximately 40%) ANNUAL property tax reduction for all eligible “contributing properties” within the neighborhood.
Is My Home a Contributing Property?
As a part of the nomination development process, each property in the neighborhood was evaluated in detail by Chris Evans, our contracted historic architect. He determined for each property whether it could justify being included as a “contributing property” or not. Homeowners were informed of the decision about their property in June, 2018. Unless changes have been made since Chris' assessment that significantly detract from the home’s original character, those homes listed as contributing properties in the list referenced below remain in the recommended contributing property list today. Ultimately, it will rest with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to make final determination as to whether a home is contributing or not.
For more information:
List of Broadmoor Contributing & Non-contributing properties
** Note: Properties shown as "Contributing" assume NO significant changes were made to affect the character of these homes since this list was constructed (2018/2019).
Discussion of what makes a property contributing or not
How Do I Keep My Property's Historic Designation (Or Lose it)?
The short answer to maintaining contributing property status is to avoid making any changes that affects the character of the house, as viewed from the FRONT. It is that curbside view of the house that is considered in determining status. Changes to the rear or side of the house, if they do not significantly impact the front view, are generally OK, as are interior remodeling changes. But significant changes in structure, style, or materials that are apparent from the street will likely be an issue. In our neighborhood, problematic changes have most frequently involved:
stuccoing your home
making changes to roofing style (e.g. changing from shingle to metal or tile)
making structural changes such as additions or enclosures on the front side of the house
If you do feel the need to make changes to the front of your house, you should speak with the resources at the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in advance, to review your plans and to discuss any potential issues for your contributing status. You can get this assistance by contacting Arianna Urban at SHPO by email at aurban@azstateparks.gov, or by phone at (480) 679-2875.
Recognize that in addition to impacting potential tax advantages for you, maintaining your home’s contributing status is also important to the neighborhood as a whole. Our Historic District requires that at least 51% of the homes in the neighborhood are contributing. If we were to lose too many contributing properties in the future, we would lose the entire neighborhood’s historic district status.
Here's a more complete discussion of contributing properties.
Am I Entitled to a Tax Reduction? How Does that Work?
Now that Broadmoor is officially classified as Historic, contributing property owners who qualify can make application to have their tax category reclassified, which will reduce the tax on their property.
Who qualifies for this tax benefit:
Only designated contributing property owners can take advantage of the tax reclassification. (See the link to the list of contributing properties in Broadmoor at the bottom of this page.)
Contributing properties that are owner-occupied will generally qualify for the tax reclassification. Contributing properties that are used as rentals generally do not qualify. (In the case of rentals, the house will still be classified as a contributing property, even though a tax reduction is not available now. If the house later becomes owner-occupied, then that owner would then qualify for the tax benefit.)
Certain exceptions to the "Owner-Occupied" requirement may be considered by the County Assessor. Some examples:
If only a single room or one portion of the house is rented, the Assessor may grant mixed-use status, and grant historic tax classification for the portion of the house that is not income-producing;
If the owner does not live in the house, but the house is maintained for non-income-producing purposes, the owner may qualify for the tax reduction. (e.g., another family member lives in the house, or the owner is a non-profit organization.)
The Pima County Assessor's Office makes the final determination, and should be your contact for these kinds of circumstances.
How the program works:
Contributing property owners must apply to the County Assessor’s Office for a tax reclassification of their property. The assessor will check with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for confirmation that the property is indeed contributing. Then, if the Assessor determines the homeowner to be eligible, the tax reclassification will be granted.
"Tax reclassification" means changing your property's tax class (shown as "Legal Class" on your annual "Residential Notice of Value" document from the Assessor's office). For most Broadmoor homeowners, the current legal class is Class 3 – Primary Residence. Reclassification for historic contributing status will change the legal class to Class 6 – Historic/Enterprise. This change will in turn cause the "Assessment Ratio" to drop from 10% to 5%, meaning a smaller portion of your property's assessed value will be subject to taxation. (See the Pima County Assessor website for more details on the property tax calculation process.)
Once approved, the "Historic" tax classification remains in place for 15 years, provided that you maintain the property in its contributing status form. After 15 years, you may apply for a renewal of the historic tax classification.
By participating in this program, you agree to have SHPO review, in advance, any plans for modifications or updates you are considering for your house, so that potential impacts on your home's historic status can be identified and discussed. You may also use SHPO as a resource for any questions about the contributing status of your property. This includes non-contributing property owners who may have questions about why their properties were classified as they were, and/or what if any changes they could make to their house to become contributing. First point of contact at SHPO is Arianna Urban (Email: aurban@azstateparks.gov Phone: (480) 679-2875).
List of Broadmoor Contributing and Non-contributing properties :
** ** Note: Properties shown as "Contributing" assume NO significant changes were made to affect the character of these homes since this list was constructed (2018/2019).
How to Get Your Tax Classification Changed (& Key Resource Material)
If you are an eligible contributing property owner, you can obtain a reclassification of your property’s tax status by applying to the Pima County Assessor’s Office. You must submit a one-page form, along with 2 current pictures of your home (one front view, one side corner view). The Assessor’s Office will determine your eligibility, and will check with SHPO for confirmation of your property’s historic contributing status. (Important: Owners must submit their application to the Assessor's office by June 30 in order to ensure that the tax benefits will be in place for the following tax year.)
If you are a new owner of the property and/or are not sure if historic tax classification has already been approved, you can check by calling the Pima Co. Assessor's office at 520-724-8630. Or, you can check online at the Assessor's Advanced Search page: https://www.asr.pima.gov/Parcel/Search . Click on the "Address" tab and enter yours to see your property information. If you see reference to "Historic Property" under the property description, then the historic tax classification has already been assigned to your home. If not, and you want to apply, then follow the instructions below.
Detailed Instructions: Applying for a Property Tax Reclassification
Verify that your property is on the list of contributing properties in Broadmoor.
Print and complete a copy of the SHPO Property Tax Reclassification Application Form. Instructions are attached to the form. In addition, these are some helpful points related specifically to our applications:
Line 3: Most people will check “Owner-Occupied Residential”. However, if you have special circumstances (e.g. a family member is the resident as opposed to the owner, the owner is a non-profit, you have a potential mixed-use home, etc.), you may need to check “Other non-income producing use”. You should call the County Assessor’s office (Phone: 520-724-8630) to discuss these situations and get specific advice on how to represent them on the application form.
Line 5: Check “Within the following neighborhood or historic district”, and write “Broadmoor Historic District” in the space provided.
Lines 6 &7: This information (captured in 2018-19) is provided on the Historic Property Inventory Form for your property (see below). You should also include any changes that have been made affecting the front view of the home since that time.
Take 2 photographs of your home, one from the front, the other from a front side corner. See examples to help ensure yours are correct.
Mail or hand-deliver the completed application, along with the two pictures, in time for it to be received by June 30, to:
Pima County Assessor's Office
240 N Stone Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85701
In Pima County, the application form cannot be submitted electronically.
KEY RESOURCES:
State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). For questions about the contributing status of your property, and for consulting or review of changes you are considering for your property.
First point of contact is:
Arianna Urban, Certified Local Government Coordinator | SPT Coordinator
Email: aurban@azstateparks.gov
Phone: (602) 542-7138
Mailing Address:
Arizona State Historic Preservation Office
Arizona State Parks & Trails
1110 W Washington St Suite 100 |
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Additional contact:
Eric Vondy, Preservation Incentives & CLG Program Coordinator.
Email (preferred method): evondy@azstateparks.gov
Phone: 602-542-4009 or 800-285-3703
Mailing Address:
State Historic Preservation Office
1100 W Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Link to the recording of SHPO meeting:
This was a meeting held on March 29, 2021 over Zoom with Eric Vondy from SHPO and neighbors from BBVN. Eric discussed the State Historic Property Tax program, what contributing property owners must do in order to apply for the tax reclassification, and answered many questions from neighbors. The length is about 1 hour 15 minutes. If you choose, you can run it at slightly faster than normal speed. At 1.25 or 1.5 times the normal speed, the speakers sound a little like Alvin the Chipmunk (!), but are still understandable and you get through the recording a little quicker.
Property Tax Reclassification application form (and instructions):
This is the form that you will need to send to the Pima County Assessor's office to apply for the tax reclassification of your property.
Pima County Assessor's Office contact information:
Pima County Assessor's Office
240 N Stone Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85701
(Phone: 520-724-8630)
Integrity Policy 2011 (including carport policy): This is a document, requested during the March 29th meeting, which contains, among other things, information about carport infills.
Historic Property Inventory Forms: This is where you can find the information that was documented about your property in the historic district nomination package. This information may be helpful to include on the application form for the Property Tax Reclassification. The link to this material was sent to neighbors via the BBVNA Listserv. For privacy reasons, we are not making this material accessible from the public website screens. For details on how to access it, please contact Mike Weingarten at history@broadmoorbroadwayvillage.com.
Stay Informed: We use our Broadmoor-Broadway Village Listserv to keep neighbors informed about our historic designation efforts, as well as other important neighborhood news. If you are not already enrolled to receive messages from our Listserv, you can do it now. Simply scroll to the bottom of this page and click on "Mailing List". You will see a short application form. Complete and submit it, and you will be added to our distribution. It's that simple!
