Since its creation in 1976, the Federal Historic Tax Credit has shaped the nation’s built environment and changed how Americans view historic landmarks and neighborhoods. The federal historic tax credit, along with a number of state tax credits, has incentivized the reuse of historic buildings across the country.

Former warehouses, textile mills, railroad stations, firehouses, hospitals, banks, office buildings, and even gas stations have been saved from demolition and converted to new uses that continue to serve their communities. Thus, rehabilitation/adaptive reuse has become one of the most popular and visible aspects of historic preservation in the United States.

50 years later, the 2026 APT DC Symposium seeks to explore various aspects of the rehabilitation treatment’s theory and practice – through both its development and utilization over the past 50 years, but also its future application. Topics to consider:

• Applying the Secretary’s Standards and Guidelines for Rehabilitation to actual projects and real-world scenarios

• Making historic spaces safer and more accessible to the public without losing historic integrity (e.g., design, materials, and workmanship)

• Exploring how the profession’s views have changed over the past five decades in regards to character-defining features and materials

• Approaching and executing the restoration and reconstruction of elements and features within larger rehabilitation projects

• Designing and constructing new additions that are compatible with historic buildings, and looking at the considerations that are made, particularly in relation to materials

• Examining rehabilitation challenges and/or opportunities with buildings of the recent past (i.e., 25-30 years ago)

• Approaching the preservation and/or rehabilitation of a previous project, and lessons learned

• Analyzing what makes a rehabilitation project successful, and overcoming challenges to reuse

• Exploring building types, and what makes for both successful and unsuccessful reuses

• Examining how rehabilitation standards and guidelines have changed and what this means for preservation professionals in the field

Although this topic is shaped by public policy, the 2026 Symposium seeks to focus on the application and practice of rehabilitation.

Highest consideration will be given to submissions that:

• Present compelling ideas, insights, principles, and lessons applicable to other rehabilitation projects
• Present creative adaptive reuse projects
• Offer stimulating thought or encourage dialogue and debate within the preservation profession
• Contain original research
• Represent sites in the APT DC Region (Washington, DC; Maryland; Virginia; West Virginia; and Sussex County, DE)

Proposals for presentations ranging from 30 to 60 minutes will be accepted.

Note that, depending on the number of submissions selected to present at the symposium, presentations that are longer than 30 minutes may need to be reduced in length.

Furthermore, APT DC is planning to continue their Tech Talk series in fall 2026 and presentations not selected for the symposium may be considered for the series.

Deadline for Submissions: Friday, July 3, 2026