Buffalo’s historic grain elevators are no longer just silent giants on the river—they’re becoming vibrant centers for culture, community, and innovation. At Silo City, the American Grain Complex and the Perot Malting Company Facility have been carefully documented and preserved with the help of KTA Preservation Specialists. Our work on the National Register nomination and Historic Tax Credit approvals allowed developers to access critical funding and honor the site’s history while creating new opportunities for its future. These spaces, once filled with the rumble of conveyors and the scent of grain, are now being reimagined for public gatherings, creative industries, and new economic life.

Built between 1906 and 1936, the Perot Elevator and Malthouse stood alongside the American Grain Complex as powerful engines of Buffalo’s grain industry. Together, they shaped the city’s identity as an international hub for storage, malting, milling, and shipment of grain. The Perot Facility in particular introduced advanced malting technologies, including the Saladin Box System, while the American Elevator was a model of early slip-form reinforced concrete construction. Connected by an overhead conveyor in 1922, the two complexes symbolized Buffalo’s industrial might, linking lake freighters, railroads, and processing plants into a seamless chain of commerce that influenced modern architecture and industry alike.

Once a symbol of Buffalo’s rise as the “Grain Capital of the World,” the American Grain Complex and the adjoining Perot Malting Company Facility had fallen silent for decades, their towering silos and industrial machinery left as relics of a vanished economy.

Today, these massive structures stand at the heart of a preservation and redevelopment effort that is giving them new life. KTA Preservation Specialists played a central role in this transformation, preparing the National Register nominations and securing Historic Tax Credits that allowed multiple buildings on the site to be rehabilitated. By weaving together the complex’s industrial past and its creative future, KTA helped ensure that these concrete and brick monuments remain an enduring part of Buffalo’s waterfront identity.

Today, the Silo City site is at the forefront of Buffalo’s adaptive reuse movement. The preservation framework laid by KTA not only secured the complex’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places but also made possible millions of dollars in rehabilitation through Historic Tax Credits. These efforts have won recognition at local and state preservation awards ceremonies, celebrating the project as a model of large-scale industrial reuse. The elevators and malthouses—once vacant and deteriorating—are now poised to become a destination for arts, performance, and community life, all while retaining the raw power and authenticity of their industrial past.

Buffalo’s DL&W Train Shed, constructed in 1917, is one of the last remaining Bush-style train sheds in the country—and a striking example of early 20th-century railroad innovation. Once a bustling hub for passengers and freight, the building is now poised for a new chapter.

KTA partnered with the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA), Savarino Companies, and project stakeholders to prepare the Historic Preservation Certification Application and National Register nomination, ensuring that planned renovations respect the structure’s original design while adapting it for modern use. This is even more impressive because the building was originally determined Not Eligible! From riveted steel arches to patented Bush-style skylights, much of the original material remains intact—and our documentation ensures it stays that way.

The project represents a powerful blend of preservation and adaptive reuse, bringing a historic structure into the future of Buffalo’s waterfront.

Want to see how a train shed becomes a transit gateway of tomorrow?
 Check out the full story in this recent feature article: https://www.dlandwbuffalo.com/blog/earning-the-dlw-historic-designation-part-1

 The H.A. Moyer Factory Complex, located on Syracuse’s south side, is a rare surviving example of New York’s industrial evolution from the horse-drawn carriage era to the early automobile age. Founded in the late 19th century by Hamilton A. Moyer, the factory produced high-end carriages and, by 1908, motorcars for an emerging American market. The site’s structures—built between 1881 and 1951—capture a range of construction types, from heavy timber framing to reinforced concrete. Though Moyer’s automobile venture was short-lived, the complex continued to serve as a hub for light manufacturing through the mid-20th century. Over time, the buildings were abandoned and left to the elements—so deteriorated, in fact, that water poured through the ceilings like a waterfall.

Today, the site is reborn as Moyer Lofts, a mixed-use development that retains the soul of the original complex while providing modern housing and commercial space. Known throughout Syracuse and New York State as “the building with the house on top,” this visually iconic structure underwent a complete transformation.

kta Preservation Specialists, in partnership with Carmina Wood Design, prepared the National Register nomination and Historic Tax Credit documentation that were vital to securing funding for the project.

Award-winning in its execution, this adaptive reuse effort not only salvaged a distressed historic resource but also brought new life to a neglected part of the city—proving that with vision and care, even the most deteriorated places can be reimagined for the future.

At first glance, the concrete structure at 1432 Niagara Street appeared to be just another utilitarian warehouse from the 1920s—simple, solid, and seemingly unremarkable. But when kta Preservation Specialists began researching the site, they uncovered a dramatic and little-known history: during Prohibition, this very building served as the headquarters for the Illinois Alcohol Company’s $3 million bootlegging operation, one of the most sophisticated illegal liquor enterprises in Buffalo. Strategically located with access to rail and road transportation and built with early use of glass block windows and reinforced concrete, the building served both legal and illicit purposes. This hidden story was the key to achieving National Register listing, which opened the door to essential rehabilitation funding.

Today, the once-overlooked industrial shell is home to the West Side Bazaar, an award-winning business incubator for immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs operated by WEDI (Westminster Economic Development Initiative). With design by CJS Architects and National Register listing and historic tax credit documentation led by kta Preservation Specialists, the building has been transformed into a bright, modern, community-oriented space with a global food court, retail stalls, shared kitchens, and training areas—all while preserving its industrial bones.

What began as a forgotten Prohibition-era warehouse is now a vibrant, inclusive destination, celebrated across New York State for both its cultural impact and architectural integrity. Interior photos showcase the open concrete structure filled with life, flavor, and opportunity—proving that great design, storytelling, and community can turn any building into a landmark.

kta preservation specialists conducted and Alternatives Analysis at the A.D. Price Housing Complex, also known as the Willert Park Courts.

Designed in 1939, this public housing complex is one of Buffalo's only examples of the International Style from this era.  After a thorough examination and documentation of the building, landscape and sculptures, kta preservation specialists provided a comprehensive analysis of multiple alternatives to demolition to the client, the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority.  While the results of these findings remain controversial, kta's thorough investigative work on the property demonstrates the firm's willingness to weigh multiple historical, social, physical and financial factors in determining the potential of rehabilitation.  

The Our Lady of Victory (OLV) Basilica and its surrounding complex in Lackawanna, New York, has long stood as a symbol of faith, artistry, and community pride. Designed by French ecclesiastical architect Emile Uhlrich and completed in 1926 under the leadership of Father Nelson Baker, the basilica and its associated schools, rectories, and service buildings formed a remarkable campus that shaped generations of Western New Yorkers.

The OLV complex traces its origins to the vision of Father Nelson Baker, whose leadership transformed a modest parish in Lackawanna into a nationally renowned center of worship, education, and charity. Construction of the basilica, begun in 1921 and completed in 1926, brought together Italian marble, mosaics, and stained glass of unmatched beauty, modeled after great European churches.

Surrounding the basilica, schools, convents, and service buildings created a self-sustaining campus that embodied Baker’s mission of care for orphans, the poor, and the faithful. The site quickly became both a spiritual heart for the region and an architectural marvel recognized well beyond Western New York.

By the 21st century, the need for recognition and long-term preservation was clear. kta Preservation Specialists worked closely with community partners to prepare the comprehensive National Register nomination for the multi-building complex, ensuring its historic significance was both documented and celebrated. This designation now secures a path for continued preservation and renewal, safeguarding a treasured site that continues to inspire.

Today, the Our Lady of Victory Basilica and Complex remains an active parish, a pilgrimage destination, and one of Western New York’s most cherished landmarks. With its recent National Register listing, the site now enjoys formal recognition that will support ongoing preservation efforts.

The project has also been recognized with a 2025 Preservation Buffalo Niagara Award, celebrating both its architectural and cultural significance. kta’s contribution—researching, documenting, and drafting the nomination—was instrumental in securing this recognition and in laying the foundation for a preservation plan that ensures OLV’s legacy continues to inspire future generations.

kta preservation specialists conducted a Cultural Resource Survey of the University Park Historic District, surveying over 5000 properties between Main Street and Eggert Road, Winspear Avenue and Kensington Avenue.  The firm is also conducting outreach with several local community organizations as the survey progresses.  One such example of this type of outreach can be seen here. 

At first glance, the Allegany Council House may seem like just another wooden building along Old Route 17 in Jimersontown. But step inside its story, and you’ll find a place where history was made: where Seneca leaders organized resistance against the Kinzua Dam, and where Seneca women finally secured the right to vote. With KTA Preservation Specialists working alongside the Seneca Nation, the Council House was formally recognized on the National Register of Historic Places—cementing its place in history. This is more than preservation; it’s about honoring resilience, sovereignty, and the voices that fought for justice.

By 2017, when kta Preservation Specialists began working with the Seneca Nation to prepare its National Register nomination, the building had fallen into vacancy, its significance overlooked by many outside the community. Drafting the nomination together allowed both historic documentation and cultural memory to be preserved. The project not only safeguarded the structure’s story but also ensured that the building’s role in shaping Native sovereignty and democratic reform in New York would be recognized for generations.

Built in 1926 to replace the Shongo Council House lost to fire, the Allegany Council House in Jimersontown, NY, became the political heart of the Seneca Nation for four decades. Within its modest wooden walls, Seneca leaders debated strategies to resist the U.S. government’s Kinzua Dam project, which seized and flooded 10,000 acres of their land, and it was here that Seneca women secured the right to vote in 1964. As the central gathering place for Council meetings between 1935 and 1966, the building witnessed both profound loss and remarkable gains in sovereignty and democracy, making it one of the most important surviving structures on the Allegany Reservation.

By the early 21st century, the Allegany Council House stood vacant, its national significance at risk of fading from view. In 2017, kta Preservation Specialists worked in close collaboration with the Seneca Nation of Indians to research, document, and draft the nomination that secured the building’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places. This recognition not only preserved the physical structure but also elevated its story of resilience, governance, and social reform within the broader history of New York State and the United States. Today, the Council House stands as both a tangible reminder of Seneca perseverance and an honored site of memory, continuing to inspire through its legacy.

kta preservation specialists conducted material fabric restoration on the exterior stained glass of Trinity Episcopal Church in Buffalo.  The project involved masonry pointing, archaeological removal and the stabilization of coping stone. The wood tracery at the rose window was deteriorated beyond repair.  Rubber molds were cast on site to produce plaster models to be used in crafting of new wood tracery.