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.
Moyer Carriage Lofts represents an incredible example of how historic preservation and affordable housing can go hand-in-hand to create major positive change. A true collaborative effort, this project required dedicated stakeholders and financing from multiple avenues in order to be successful. Local developers Housing Visions and Redev CNY saw the potential of the site and teamed up to lead the charge.
Before-and-Afters
The complex was built in stages from 1882-1909 and the buildings were in various states of disrepair. The team worked with kta Preservation Specialists to prepare the necessary documentation for a National Register of Historic Places listing. Of the eight buildings that were on site at the start of the project, four were deemed to be noncontributing and were removed in order to open up previously obscured elevations, allowing for more light and air to enter what would become the apartment units. The contributing structures were successfully added to the National Register in 2022, allowing the project to benefit from State and Federal Historic Tax Credits.
In addition to these incentives, the project also utilized State and Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Brownfield Cleanup Program Tax Credits through the Department of Environmental Conservation, subsidies from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, and HOME funds from the City of Syracuse.
Well known in Syracuse for being the factory with the little house on the roof, the building has been a local landmark over 100 years. Built by Harvey A. Moyer, the site originally functioned as a production facility for his Moyer Carriage and Car Company. This business remained in operation until 1915 when Moyer’s luxury cars could no longer compete with the mass production popularized by Henry Ford. The complex had several uses in the 20th Century but was eventually abandoned. One large section that was in particularly bad condition partially collapsed before full stabilization could begin. While this was a significant setback, the project team carefully reconstructed the damaged section of the complex, salvaging as much historic material as possible for use in repair and rebuilding. Project architects from Carmina Wood Design led the adaptive reuse project, which celebrates many original details while bringing the building into the 21st Century. The project meets Enterprise’s Community Partner’s Green Community program requirements through energy efficient appliances and other technology. The Moyer Carriage Lofts is also recognized as part of Governor Hochul’s initiative to create 800,000 new homes across the state. This project could prove to be a model for other similar structures across the state, proving that challenging buildings can — and should — find new life that benefits the people of their communities. Even the little house on the roof was restored, to the delight of Syracuse residents.
"Moyer Carriage Lofts was not easy or for the faint of heart. If not for the dedication of the entire team, we would not have succeeded,” said Steve Carmina, President/CEO of Carmina Wood Design. “From the owners to our construction partners, everyone involved committed to the vision and the challenge of an aging campus of collapsing structures and hidden architectural features that were slowly brought back into view. Carmina Wood Design thanks our clients for this wonderful commission and our construction partners at Hueber Breuer for committing to our collective vision."
Project Team: Housing Visions; Redev CNY; Carmina Wood Design; Hueber-Breuer Construction; M/E Engineering; Studio T3; Sustainable Comfort; and kta preservation specialists.