If the city follows the advice of its hired consulting firm, it will try to expand the downtown historic district &045; actually more than double it &045; from 48 properties to 114.

Hess Roise, a Minneapolis based historical consulting firm, performed a survey on the historic merits of the downtown area this spring and presented their findings to the city council Tuesday.

According to Charlene Roise, one of the consultants, one advantage of having buildings designated as historic is status, but a more tangible benefit is the chance to get federal housing grants and tax credits for buildings whose owners seek to make improvements.

The current district encompasses buildings on North Broadway Avenue from Main Street north to Fountain Street.

The expansion would push the parameters as far east as Elizabeth Avenue, as far south as Pearl Street and as far west as the alley between Washington and St. Mary’s avenues.

To expand the district, the city must apply to the state and the national historic register. Roise thought that process could take a few months to finish, but said an application to begin the process should be submitted by early August.

The council also discussed the formation of a downtown historical district board, which would act to make sure improvements in the district are made with respect to city ideals on the district.

City Manager Paul Sparks said the change would give the city more authority on how building projects are done in the district, something that might not please all downtown property owners.

However, both Sparks and Roise stressed that the tax credits made available through the district would be beneficial to the building owners and could go toward those projects.

If the district is created, the council could pursue creating the historic board.

One of the buildings that was described as being in the best shape of the historic buildings in Albert Lea was the Hanson building, one that the city is hoping to tear down.

After buying both the &uot;Vault,&uot; or Freeborn Bank Building, and Lea Center last year, the city hoped to demolish the Hanson building, situated east of the bank building, to make room for parking.

According to City Manager Paul Sparks, getting the Hanson building demolished and establishing parking is key to getting developers interested in the two buildings.

The city council expects to vote on a resolution to take control of the Hanson building and demolish it at their next meeting in early July.