San Juan, – The Central Office of Recovery and Reconstruction of Puerto Rico (COR3), the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (ICP) and the Planning Board (JP) announced today that they have identified the historic and tourist interest areas in the west of the island that were affected by Hurricane Maria.
This was reported today by the legislator Maricarmen Mas in the second public hearing on the Resolution of the Chamber 1179, which studies the damage suffered by the structures by the cyclone and found in the so-called “Historic, Ancient or Tourist Interest Areas “in the west area.
For his part, the legal advisor of the COR3, Antonio Pavia, said he works hand in hand with the municipalities, agencies and government entities that identify and determine the inventory of properties damaged by hurricanes Irma and María, to rebuild them as part of the permanent works that will be carried out with the funds that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, in English) grants.
Pavia explained that his office works as a recipient of Public Assistance grant funds to ensure proper and effective project management, to centralize control and oversee the distribution of FEMA funds.
Pavia added that it has a registry of the properties identified by the municipalities, but it is not limited to facilities denominated as “Historic, Ancient or Tourist Interest Areas”, but it includes all those that suffered damages by the aforementioned hurricanes.
For its part, the architect of the ICP, Mildred González, submitted to the Commission a list of 68 affected facilities in the western area, to which she added the recreational places of the municipalities and the surrounding blocks.
By indicating that the ICP is working in collaboration with the COR3 in this effort, he argued that all traditional urban centers are considered by the ICP as areas of high cultural, historical, architectural and archaeological value.
Meanwhile, the legal advisor of the JP, Héctor Morales, added that there are historical places designated by the agency that are not located in the historic areas, so he recommended that they be included in this research as they also form part of the country’s historic built heritage. .
Likewise, Morales recommended contacting the State Office of Historic Conservation for the purpose of receiving federal grants to restore and preserve historic properties. (EFEUSA)
