A large swatch of the Blackwell neighborhood in South Side just gained official designation as a historic place.

Capping months of controversy and community outreach, the state Board of Historic Resources and its companion state Board of Review voted Wednesday to create the new Blackwell Historic District for inclusion on Virginia and federal registers.

The decision came at a special meeting of the boards at New Life Deliverance Tabernacle, 900 Decatur St. Ironically, the historic church property in Blackwell is not included in the new district.

Boundaries for the new Blackwell Historic District are roughly Decatur Street, Jefferson Davis Highway, Dinwiddie Avenue and East 13th Street.

None of the owners of the 584 homes and commercial spaces included in the new district filed objections. The designation was spearheaded by a Church Hill couple, Michael and Laura Hild, who have purchased dozens of commercial and residential properties in and around Blackwell.

According to state officials, the new designation is a label and does not prohibit private owners from making changes to their property. It also opens opportunities for owners like the Hilds to seek federal historic tax credits to help them cover the costs of renovation.

Clyde P. Smith, vice chair of the state Board of Historic Resources, noted that the historic designation could contribute to the pressures increasing property values in Blackwell.

Since 2017, values have risen an average of 33 percent in the neighborhood, sharply raising the cost of city property taxes for elderly Blackwell residents on fixed incomes.

Mr. Smith said he had spoken with Mayor Levar M. Stoney and urged him to support a tax deferral program that would allow property owners, particularly those with below average incomes, to avoid paying such increases until they sell the property.

City Council member Kim B. Gray, 2nd District, has proposed such a program in the wake of a surge in property values across Richmond, but doesn’t have sufficient support from the Stoney administration or to secure a vote from members of City Council.

Before Wednesday’s vote on the designation, residents of Blackwell praised officials with the state Department of Historic Resources for holding more than 20 public meetings to educate people about the historic designation and for working with history-minded individuals.

The designation comes with increased recognition for the celebrated individuals who made an impact, most notably educator James H. Blackwell, for whom the public school and the section of Richmond are named, and his physician son, Dr. James H. Blackwell Jr.

It also includes the late civil rights leader Dorothy I. Height, a Blackwell native who became an associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mrs. Height was the founder and longtime leader of the National Council of Negro Women. It also includes the influential former pastors of First Baptist Church of South Richmond, the Rev. Anthony Binga and the Rev. W.L. Ransome.

The two boards also voted to expand the Manchester Historic District that lies north of the Blackwell community.