kta Identifies Several Historic Districts in Townwide Survey of Irondequoit, NY

Our work in Irondequoit has recently been featured on WXXI News, the Rochester-area branch of NPR News. We have been working for over a year to conduct a massive survey of the entire Town of Irondequoit, We have identified dozens of individual buildings and several historic districts, including one of about 4500 buildings, as potentially National Register Eligible.

We invite you to read more (and listen to the 2 minute clip!) about this important project through this news link to see how we have helpd Irondoquoit keep its history alive for generations to come.

At Irondoquoit, history and modern community needs came together in one of our most meaningful preservation projects. Irondequoit was once a richly layered landscape, home to the Seneca Nation, a key hub for the fur trade and early colonial settlement, and a shoreline retreat influenced by the growth of waterside resorts and Rochester's suburbanization. From Indigenous stewardship and agricultural innovation to the introduction of streetcar suburbs and postwar development, this Historic Resources Survey, which was meticulously drafted by our associate Athan Geolas and the kta team, charts that entire arc of change.

The document anchors the human stories that shaped Irondequoit's character by restoring the lives and communities that once stood behind the buildings. Fundamentally, the project supports preservation by suggesting the establishment of multiple historic districts to safeguard the town's most important architectural and cultural assets. The Seabreeze Amusement Park is among these districts as well! kta’s role in drafting this survey was guided by a shared commitment to history, place, and memory—ensuring that Irondequoit’s past can continue to inform and inspire its future.

kta Lists the OLV Basilica Campus on the National Register of Historic Places

The Our Lady of Victory (OLV) National Shrine and Basilica hired kta Preservation Specialists to list the Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church Complex on the National Register of Historic Places. Rather than solely nominate the Basilica, the nomination traced the historic scope and span of the impact of OLV on the surrounding parish and community as well as its architectural development over time.

Proposing a historic district, rather than an individual building, enabled the listing of 13 buildings spanning several blocks in Lackawanna, NY. This not only honors the legacy of Father Baker, but also the lives of many people touched by his efforts for decades.

With this NR listing, OLV will be able to maintain and expand its contributions to the community by utilizing preservation oriented financial incentives for years to come. It places OLV at the heart of the surrounding community as a NR listed historic district with continued outreach to the neighborhood in which it is situated over time.

You can view a bit more about this accomplishment on the local news, here.

From Bootlegging to Bazaar

Our work at the new West Side Bazaar building in Buffalo has been recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation! See the full article here.

Did you know this humble warehouse was once the site of a massive Prohibition-era bootlegging ring?! Even Federal Agents were in on it, along with railroad companies and state representatives.

kta preservation specialists uncovered this history and listed the building on the National Register for Historic Places, then assisted with guidelines for obtaining historic tax credits to fund the project. Now it is home to dozens of tasty foods and a truly international community!

Every project holds new discoveries for us. We are proud to work with the team for this exciting project, featured by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

kta's Architectural Historian awarded H. Allen Brook's Travelling Fellowship

We are proud to announce that Annie Schentag, partner and Lead Architectural Historian at kta, has received the 2023 H. Allen Brooks Travelling Fellowship!

This is a great honor for Annie and for kta preservation specialists, as it is an international competition where Annie is one of only two people in the world to receive this prestigious opportunity from the Society of Architectural Historians this year.

On a fully-funded itinerary of her own design, Annie will be traveling through five countries in Latin America for three months this summer: Panama, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina, and Uruguay. Her itinerary is designed to examine the intersection of preservation practices and urban reinvention in a transnational context. She will explore examples of locally designed modern and contemporary architecture in balance with their colonial and Indigenous manifestations. Through her travels, Annie hopes to develop a deeper understanding of the power and privilege entrusted in the task of preserving histories for a variety of marginalized communities. This will certainly be of use to her continued work with kta in multiple upcoming projects.

“I am honored and thrilled to visit five countries never before visited on the Brooks Fellowship, which begins to adjust a canonically disproportionate emphasis on European examples that my students often encounter in their coursework,” said Schentag. “Now more than ever, historic preservation has a lot to learn from the ‘other’ America. I hope that traveling on this itinerary can be an education in all these intertwined fields—historic preservation, urban planning, and art history—mixed with a strong dose of humanity and humility.”

Annie is thrilled to be able to expand kta's understanding of the field of preservation at a global scale, and increase kta’s scope of communication to the SAH blog during her travels. For more on this, see the press release on SAH's site.

Four kta Projects Win Preservation Awards →

We are happy to hear that not one, but FOUR, of our projects are receiving awards from Preservation Buffalo Niagara this year! kta preservation specialists provided preservation services to these four winners:

the Residential Preservation project at 1 Penhurst Park in Buffalo

the Commercial Preservation project at the Nash Lofts in Buffalo

the Commercial Preservation project at the True Bethel Commons in Niagara Falls

the Commercial Preservation project at the Tugby-Lennon Block in Niagara Falls

kta provided historic tax credit application services to the Penhurst Park residence, and provided successful National Register listing for all three of the commercial projects. Our firm worked with a number of different architects and developers between these four winning projects, demonstrating our firm’s ability to provide preservation consultation services to a variety of unique, successful development teams.

This means that kta contributed to 4 of the 6 winning projects! You can view more about these projects alongside the other 2023 Preservation Awards winners here.

kta Lends Services to Save the Great Northern grain elevator

kta supports efforts to protect the Great Northern from demolition, and will be offering their services pro-bono in support. kta’s founder Kerry Traynor spoke at a rally organized by Citizens to Save the Great Northern at City Hall on January 20, 2022. kta’s Annie Schentag wrote a large portion of her dissertation on the Great Northern while at Cornell, and will be completing an urgent National Register nomination for listing the building in the hopes of preventing its demolition.

https://twitter.com/WBEN/status/1484259577772265485

Rally to Save the Great Northern

Our very own Kerry Traynor and Annie Schentag at the Citizens to Save the Great Northern rally on the steps of City Hall. kta preservation specialists founder, Kerry Traynor, spoke in favor of saving the Great Northern elevator in front of supporters and press. See a portion of Traynor’s speech on the steps of City Hall in WBEN’s twitter post below.

pic.twitter.com/YobW5nC3Iv

— WBEN NewsRadio 930AM (@WBEN) January 20, 2022

Next Up: University Heights West

“kta preservation specialists is honored to conduct this survey, where we will be identifying the area’s architectural character and gaining a better understanding of the story of its development. Our work in the University Heights (East) District over the last few years has made thousands of homeowners eligible for the historic tax credit program, and gave us a nuanced understanding of the architectural integrity and historical value of this region. We look forward to taking this first step in identifying the potential for a similar program west of Main Street.” said Annie Schentag of kta Preservation Specialists

See the full article on Buffalo Rising, here.

Compliance Work at The Colored Musicians Club

KTA has been conducting work at the Colored Musicians Club, providing compliance guidance as part of an expansion project during a state-funded $2 million renovation. The renovation includes an elevator addition for greater accessibility to the second floor performance area.

As the only remaining African American club of its kind in the entire United States, the Colored Musicians Club actively encourages historical research and preservation of the history of jazz in Buffalo. The building was granted historic landmark status in 1979 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

The Buffalo News discusses KTA’s work at the site in this article, specifically citing KTA’s application to the Preservation Board.

We are honored to be a part of ensuring the legacy of this building and its ties to African American history in Buffalo.

Silo City- Phase 2: The Perot Malthouse

We have been working on the Perot Malthouse National Register Nomination in preparation for this large scale historic tax credit project. The Perot Malthouse has a fascinating history in the malting industry, as well as in the history of construction, architecture, and engineering. We can’t wait to see this place rehabilitated!

Take a look at this article from Buffalo Rising, which highlights this $40 million dollar phase of the Silo City project.

Member of kta Preservation Specialists, Annie Schentag, Contributes to New Book on Buffalo

One of our lead preservation specialists, Annie Schentag, has contributed to a new book out from Cornell University Press called Buffalo at the Crossroads: The Past, Present, and Future of American Urbanism. Her chapter focuses on the history of architectural tourism at industrial sites, in both the early 20th century and the early 21st century. Much of this research was initially inspired by Annie’s work with kta preservation specialists at powerhouse sites in Western New York.

For any and all interested in learning more: There is a video recording of the live author roundtable that was hosted by the Buffalo History Museum in November. Featured alongside other prominent authors Peter Christensen, Francis Kowsky and Erkin Ozay, Annie Schentag’s presentation begins at 18:55 in the video.

The book, which secured competitive funding from the NYS Council of the Arts to help lower the cost for purchase by a broad audience, is available from Cornell University Press directly, as well as your local bookstore and places like amazon.com and bookshop.org.