Excellence Award Spotlight: The NEST at Strand-Lamon

The NEST is an exciting new hub for performance art and entrepreneurship in the North Country. The two building complex located just off the historic Public Square in downtown Watertown consists of the 1914 Strand Theater and the adjacent c.1900 Lamon Building. The redevelopment has created a dynamic and innovative partnership between SUNY Jefferson Community College (JCC) and the HarmoNNY Performing Arts Group. JCC's NEST facility provides versatile co-working space, conference rooms, bookable offices, high speed internet, and free access to training for members. Above the Lamon Building is now a new fully accessible outdoor rooftop deck and lounge providing a unique reception and performance venue. The Strand Theater, featuring a flexible theater with a small stage for presentations and theatrical performances, is the highlight of the complex. This adaptive reuse project was recognized with a 2025 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award.

Excellence AwardsKaty PeaceOctober 21, 20252025 Excellence Awards, North Country, adaptive reuse

Excellence Award Spotlight: Huntington Apartments

The transformation of the historic Huntington Building — originally the National Yeast Company — into Huntington Apartments is a powerful example of how preservation, social impact, and sustainability can converge in one remarkable project. Located at 201 Fall Street in the Village of Seneca Falls, this development is a testament to innovative adaptive reuse and community-driven revitalization. Formerly deteriorating and underutilized, the Huntington Building now offers 53 thoughtfully designed affordable apartments, including 27 permanent supportive housing units for homeless veterans. In partnership with Eagle Star Housing through the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative (ESSHI), the project addresses both veteran homelessness and affordable housing needs. These units also honor the community's values, complementing Seneca Falls' Purple Heart Town designation and its proximity to the Purple Heart Trail and Veterans Memorial Bridge. On-site services and rental subsidies offer long-term stability and dignity to residents who have faced significant personal challenges.

Excellence AwardsKaty PeaceOctober 21, 20252025 Excellence Awards, Affordable Housing, adaptive reuse

Excellence Award Spotlight: Aqueduct Redevelopment

The transformation of Rochester's historic Aqueduct Building and Campus into a state-of-the-art corporate office complex represents an extraordinary achievement in adaptive reuse and historic preservation. Occupying six interconnected buildings on a campus totaling 182,000 square feet, this project overcame significant architectural, engineering, and cultural challenges to deliver modern, collaborative workspace within a meticulously restored 19th-century industrial setting. The League is proud to recognize this project with a 2025 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award.

Excellence AwardsKaty PeaceOctober 20, 20252025 Excellence Awards, Rochester, adaptive reuse

Excellence Award Spotlight: Lofts at the Foundry

The Lofts at the Foundry represents the extraordinary culmination of a nearly 40-year effort to complete one of the Hudson Valley's most ambitious adaptive reuse undertakings: the transformation of the historic Whitehill Engine & Pictet Ice Machine Works in Newburgh, NY into a 120-unit residential condominium. Completed in November 2023, the final phase — 59 units known as The Lofts at the Foundry — overcame decades of economic turmoil, legal setbacks, and previous development missteps to deliver a model of sustainable preservation and community revitalization.

Excellence AwardsKaty PeaceOctober 14, 20252025 Excellence Awards, Newburgh, adaptive reuse

Excellence Award Spotlight: Moyer Carriage Lofts

Vacant for many years, the sprawling Moyer Factory complex on Syracuse’s Northside has undergone an incredible transformation into 128 units of affordable housing, including 50 designed for tenants requiring supportive housing. The rebranded Moyer Carriage Lofts is the largest public housing project in the City of Syracuse. The League is thrilled to recognize this this project and the team who made it happen with a 2024 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award.

Excellence Award Spotlight: Nash Lofts

Let’s take a look at the anatomy of an Excellence Award-winning project. The Nash Lofts in Buffalo was treated as a single rehabilitation project, but the building is actually comprised of 4 separate structures that were cobbled together over the years. Years of vacancy and damage made this a difficult project — the complicated nature of the building made it even more so. The team who decided to tackle the project did a remarkable job bringing this anchor property back to active use.

Excellence AwardsKaty PeaceNovember 29, 2023Buffalo, 2023 Excellence Awards, adaptive reuse, power of place

Excellence Award Spotlight: Olean's First National Bank Restoration

The First National Bank of Olean and the adjacent former Siegel’s Shoes building have been revitalized to provide much-needed high-quality housing, office, and commercial space in downtown Olean. Vacant for more than two decades, the city’s Urban Renewal Agency worked hard to find a path forward, which included historic district designation to allow for the use of Historic Tax Credits. The rehabilitation of these historic spaces was led by preservation architect Elise Johnson-Schmidt and developer Savarino Companies. Elise was gracious enough to answer a few questions about her work on this Award-winning project.

Excellence AwardsKaty PeaceNovember 3, 20232023 Excellence Awards, adaptive reuse, Olean

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Celebrating 50 years // 1974-2024