Downtown Oxford is finally going to get its shot at being listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the state is going to pay for it.

At Monday night’s meeting of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board, Executive Director Joe Frost announced Oxford was selected by the State Historic Preservation Office to receive its nomination service for the National Register.

Basically, the state is going to hire and pay for a consultant, specifically an architectural historian, to research and write a nomination that could result in the traditional portion of the downtown – i.e. the four quadrants that intersect at Washington and Burdick streets – being nationally recognized for its historical significance.

“I think it’s great,” Frost said. “These things cost money, so to be selected for a program where it’s going to be (done at) no cost to the community is wonderful.”

Frost estimated if Oxford undertook the nomination process on its own, it would cost about $30,000.

The DDA applied for the state’s nomination service back in October.

Created in 1966, the National Register is the official list of the country’s historically and culturally significant places. It’s part of the National Park Service and its purpose is to “support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources.”

In an effort to educate the public about the National Register, Frost said two informational events will be held at the Oxford Public Library (530 Pontiac Rd.). One is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20 and the other is set for 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30.

At these gatherings, residents and property owners will learn what the National Register is and what it does.

“What I really want to drive home is what the National Register isn’t,” Frost said. “A lot of folks have misconceptions about historic preservation in general.”

One of those misconceptions is that being on the register curtails property rights by restricting what owners can and cannot do with their buildings.

It does not do this, according to Frost. Property owners would still be free to alter, improve or demolish their buildings as they see fit.

Frost explained being part of the National Register is simply an “honorary designation.”

“There’s no government authority (exercised),” he said. “I want to make that clear.”

Being on the National Register could assist economic development efforts downtown by providing incentives. Federal tax credits would be available to developers who rehabilitate old buildings to historical standards.

The State Historic Preservation Office hopes to have its Request for Proposals for an architectural historian finalized and released to the public in January.

The actual work would begin in mid-2017 and include research, writing, photography, building inventories, creating maps, identifying district boundaries, issuing public notices and making public presentations.

“It’s a lengthy process,” Frost said.

The work is expected to take anywhere from 12 to 24 months.

Once the nomination process is complete, the application will be submitted to the National Park Service for consideration and potential approval.

Frost expects the information in the application to be quite thorough and accurate.

“The State (Historic) Preservation Office isn’t going to send something that’s going to get kicked back,” he said.

If downtown Oxford is placed on the National Register, Frost said, “We can officially start using the term historic (to describe it).”

“We say historic now, but it’s really kind of an informal (thing),” he explained. “It doesn’t have any meaning other than we have older buildings.”

Being on the national list would be a point of pride for Oxford and show everyone in the country that “our downtown has made the cut,” Frost noted.

According to the National Park Service website, there are more than 80,000 properties listed in the National Register, representing 14 million buildings, sites, districts, structures and objects.

Almost every county in the U.S. has at least one place listed. Michigan has more than 1,600 listings.

Locally, the historic district in the Village of Lake Orion became part of the National Register in 2006.

Prior to that, the single-span stone arch railroad bridge over Indian Lake Rd. on the Oxford/Orion border joined the list. It was built in 1891.