Michigan Historic Preservation Network

08/31/2026

Register for free: https://www.mhpn.org/workshops/

Speakers:
Ron Campbell
Principal Planner/Architect
Oakland County, Michigan

Alexandria Huff McFarland-Stankovich, AICP
Principal Planner
Oakland County, Michigan Planning & Economic Development

A timely and relevant topic that all communities, local government, HDC’s, DDA’s, property and business owners can benefit. It is a matter that any of our communities could face at any moment. Actions that can be taken in pre-disaster planning and the possibilities to expect during post disaster recovery will be explained.

This is the story of three businesses, three historic buildings and three individual owners putting the pieces back together after a devastating fire. Told from the perspective of a Main Street Coordinating Program, the session will provide detailed awareness of what to expect, insight into the many different needs required and lessons learned during the recovery process. Beginning with a brief history of the district and the importance of understanding how history would eventually help in resolving a legal dispute, to the day of the fire and through the Coordinating Program’s response that followed will be analyzed.

Testing the resolve of the owners and the ingenuity of the Main Street program: we will examine the unique challenges faced by each owner with their various levels of experience as well as the Main Street response to the individual needs and circumstances. This session illustrates just how intricately the lives and livelihoods of people are entwined with their Main Street buildings and their businesses, and that as the work unfolds, the original course of action may not always be the final plan. From underinsured, loss of income during an extended period, selecting the right team, navigating financing and new code requirements, to litigation will be presented. Analysis will also include the crucial role that common changes to the infrastructure over time have lessen fire prevention and measures can be taken to reduce the risk, and the steps you can do to help in the crisis recovery efforts.

Upper photo: Courtesy of Battle Alley Coffee
Lower photo: Linden firefighter keeps a visual watch. Photo by Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press.

08/10/2026

Register today at https://www.mhpn.org/workshops/

What are tax credits? Who can claim a tax credit? How are tax credits turned into dollars?
This webinar will focus on “what’s next” after a building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places or certified as contributing to the significance of a “registered historic district”.
Historic tax credit (HTC) programs are indirect federal and state subsidies used to finance the rehabilitation of historic buildings. HTCs are designed to incentivize private investment by offering income tax reductions, which in turn closes financial gaps, encourages developers to turn vacant properties into income-producing spaces (like apartments or retail), and revitalizes local communities.

Speaker:

Emily Cauzillo
First Vice President and Director of Mercantile Community Partner (“MCP”)
Mercantile Bank

08/04/2026

To register, become an event sponsor, or simply learn more, please go to https://www.mhpn.org/fall-benefit/

07/28/2026

The Michigan Historic Preservation Network opposes the recent revisions to Section 106

Click here to learn more.

By now you have likely heard about the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s (ACHP) draft revisions of 36 C.F.

07/23/2026

Michigan Historic Preservation Network appoints new executive director

The Michigan Historic Preservation Network (MHPN) is pleased to announce the appointment of Bill Wood as its new Executive Director.

Over the past twenty years, Bill has worked with leading nonprofits building coalitions, leading environmental initiatives, and promoting conservation and preservation programs. He served as the executive director for Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Harrisburg Area (Pennsylvania), West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC) in Grand Rapids, and as Director of Movement for the Michigan Environmental Council (MEC).

“I’m honored and excited to join the team at the Michigan Historic Preservation Network,” said Bill Wood, MHPN’s newly appointed executive director. “I’m looking forward to working on historic preservation across our great state, from Main Street to the Capitol, and to amplify, preserve, and promote Michigan’s legacy for our home folks as well as visitors. With the recent celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary, people were genuinely interested in place-based history and Michigan certainly fulfills that interest.”

A resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Bill is originally from Central Illinois. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Kentucky. After graduation, he joined Habitat for Humanity. There, Bill established one of the organization’s most viable architectural salvage and deconstruction programs. Under his guidance, the program saved over 1,000,000 pounds of building material out of the landfills, reduced impact on local watersheds, and earned over $1,500,000 for Habitat programs.

With WMEAC, Bill organized an annual cleanup of the Grand River with the assistance of over 1,000 volunteers from the community, including local leadership and their staff. Most recently at MEC, he grew the organization’s statewide membership and served as a liaison between member groups and the organization’s policy team in Lansing. Since 2020, Bill has served on the DNR’s Pigeon River Country Advisory Council. He is also a volunteer lighthouse keeper for Lakeshore Keepers, an organization that maintains five historic lighthouses along the Lake Michigan coastline.

“Bill’s experience in coalition building, his preservation-adjacent programs, and his extensive work in legislative advocacy and environmental sustainability will greatly assist MHPN’s initiatives to promote contemporary preservation topics to Michigan’s leadership, preservationists, and the public,” said MHPN board president Melissa Milton-Pung. “Through his work in conservation and architectural deconstruction, Bill understands the challenges the preservation field faces today and how MHPN can best meet them. We’re glad to welcome Bill!”

In his free time, Bill enjoys the outdoors and will happily tell the story of climbing the tallest lighthouse in the Adriatic Sea, meeting the keeper of the last remaining kerosene-powered lighthouse in the world, and his ongoing search to discover hidden gems of Brutalist architecture in Michigan and beyond.

Assisting MHPN in its search for a new executive director was ZRG Aspen Leadership Group. For more than a decade, ZRG Aspen Leadership Group has partnered with organizations across the country to recruit visionary CEOs, executive directors, advancement leaders, and C-suite talent who move missions forward. MHPN is grateful for Aspen's partnership throughout this important leadership transition.

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The Michigan Historic Preservation Network (MHPN) is Michigan’s largest membership organization for those involved in the preservation of historic properties in the state. Founded in 1981, it has provided uninterrupted service to Michigan residents with educational programs, community assistance, and advocacy services

07/21/2026

SAVE THE DATE!
32nd Annual MHPN Fall Benefit

Saturday Evening, October 3, 2026
Van Hoosen Farm at the Rochester Hills Museum
Rochester Hills, Oakland County

5– 8:30 PM Benefit.
(Optional guided tour exclusively for guests beforehand.)

Registration opens late-July! Join us!

07/10/2026

Learn more at https://www.mhpn.org/conference/
Thursday, May 13 – Saturday, May 15, 2027
The Capital Area
Headquartered at the Hannah Community Center in East Lansing
(Please note: Conference Registration Opens February, 2027)

06/29/2026

Register today at https://www.mhpn.org/workshops/

Speaker:
Dale A. Carlson
Archivist, Historian, Photographer
Michigan Stained Glass Census

Join author, photographer and architectural historian Dale A. Carlson at 1:00 pm on the afternoon of Thursday, July 30th, as he discusses the enviable stained glass legacy of metropolitan Detroit, Michigan. Learn about the architects and early histories of numerous significant installations sites in both the city and the suburbs, many over a century old. Important makers covered in this presentation include Willet Studios of Philadelphia, Franz Mayer & Co. of Munich, Ateliers Loire of Chartres, France and, of course, Tiffany Studios of New York City. Carlson’s presentation will be augmented by numerous optimized newspaper and journal clippings and professional photographs that more fully elucidate the histories discussed. It will run approximately 45 minutes and be followed by a short Q&A.

06/19/2026

MHPN Monthly Webinar Series
Register today at https://www.mhpn.org/workshops/

Speaker:
Jenna Walker
Designer | Architectural Historian
Reed Walker Design Collective

Historic downtowns are among our most valuable and underutilized economic assets. They carry embedded narrative, authentic materials, and spatial qualities that no new development can replicate. But buildings alone do not drive revitalization. Intentional design strategy does.
This session makes the case that design and preservation are not separate tracks. When integrated from the earliest stages of a project, they reinforce each other, clarifying feasibility, unlocking incentives, and producing spaces that people want to return to. Drawing on environmental psychology, the experience economy, and real project examples from Michigan communities, this presentation demonstrates how thoughtful design shapes human behavior, increases dwell time, and generates measurable economic impact in historic commercial districts.
Participants will explore how the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards function as a framework for quality rather than a barrier to progress, how early preservation alignment protects access to federal and state historic tax credits, and how even modest design interventions can change the trajectory of a building and a block. The session introduces a practical field assessment tool, the Downtown Assessment Guide, designed to help preservation and downtown professionals conduct more structured building observations before scope or investment decisions are made.
Whether you work at the community, organizational, or project level, this session offers a strategic framework for treating design as infrastructure, connecting the story of a place to the economic conditions that allow it to thrive.

05/12/2026

📢 The 27th MHPN HRC Directory is now available online!

Explore this valuable resource and discover the professionals who can support your next preservation project:
https://www.mhpn.org/resource-directory/

This annual resource is designed to connect developers, property owners, municipalities, and preservation professionals with trusted preservation-related services.

The directory features a wide range of experts, including archaeologists, architects, engineers, contractors, consultants, developers, and preservation organizations.

A listing in the directory does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement by HRC or MHPN; members are not evaluated by the HRC or MHPN. Users of the directory are encouraged to check references, review previous projects, and interview prospective
service providers to determine if their qualifications match your needs.