If you have spend time in Troy in the arts scene you know her work. Breathing Lights, Uniting Line, Creative Crosswalks, Troy Alley Action…the list goes on. Barb Nelson is more than just a public arts instigator and supporter. Her firm TAP Inc has been at the forefront of the arts and affordable housing for decades. I caught up with her to hear about what she has percolating currently and it’s impressive. A public recreation space in Troys Little Italy neighborhood, an affordable for purchase condominium project, and a month long riff of NYC’s ARCHTOBER…a Troy Edition! with over 25 events in October ranging from lunch and learns, hard hat tours, TAPpy hours and a killer art exhibition. And this is just a small sampling of the projects currently in process, all done enthusiastically and with an on eye on community building.
Please state your name, company, title. Can you give us a bit of your back story as well? Education, the path to how you got here? Interesting tidbits welcome!
I’m Barb Nelson. I became the Executive Director here at TAP Inc. exactly 10 years ago. I first worked at TAP as an intern right out of school RPI from 1980 to 1986. I managed my own practice from ’86 to ‘91 then returned to RPI to work in Campus Planning. I spent 24 years with RPI as an architect, planner and adjunct professor. But I had never wandered far from TAP’s community development mission and as such, I jumped at the chance when they needed a director in 2015. Along the way I’ve married, raised 2 daughters, renovated 2 homes, painted a dozen public murals, produced some circus shows, and served on a dozen boards, task forces and commissions. I like how easy civic engagement is in Troy.
What does a typical day look like for you?
What’s a typical day? Some days are quiet, focused on the work of running a business. Some days are anxious grant deadlines collecting and formatting data for applications. We are a storefront so someday’s are busy with unscheduled walk-ins. I spend a lot less time on project sites measuring or monitoring construction work these days. we have a strong focus on place-making through participatory public art so on any given day we could be painting bridge abutments! Whether I’m designing a stair detail or connecting a client with grant funding, every day involves creative problem solving. TAP is like that, there’s always something different to take care of.
How many staff do you have and what disciplines do they represent?
We have an amazing team of eleven ‘Totally Awesome Professionals!‘ 3 architects, 1 construction admin specialist, 4 license track designers, 1 sustainability director, an operations wizard, and a director of finance. Among us we have dancers, musicians, runners, builders, makers, artists, cooks and performers!
What is the mission at TAP and as a NFP architectural firm, how do you fit in compared to other architectural and design professionals, the overall ecosystem?
TAP has been restoring, rebuilding, and revitalizing historic structures and urban neighborhoods since 1969. Many architects develop specialties, like schools, hospitals, homes, or retail. TAP’s niche is bringing vacant, damp, burned, and deteriorated structures back to life. When you do that, you bring life back to a neighborhood. We are partly funded by NYS so we can reduce our fees for qualified clients. We also can help neighborhoods envision change through community design. We can assist other non-profits in accessing grant money for their facilities. We’ve helped Habitat for Humanity build about 90 homes in the region. We’re big on collaboration with other organizations. We believe that ‘Together Anything’s Possible.’ TAP is one of 8 regional non-profit partners that make up the Capital Region Clean Energy HUB, managing energy saving upgrades for low income homeowners, and promoting clean energy job training.
Any projects you are especially excited about right now?
We have so many! We are working with Affordable Housing Partnership in Albany to disseminate hundreds of home improvement grants for Low to Moderate Income Homeowners. In Schenectady, we have vacant homes being renovated by Better Community Neighborhoods Inc.
Closer to home, construction will start soon at Troy’s Little Italy Market Park, where TAP helped obtain grant money to transform the asphalt lot into a pocket park. We always have accessibility projects, making homes more livable for people with disabilities. We also just completed the restoration of 140 historic window sash at the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy.
Finally, our biggest effort these days is the development of Adler Place, 32 affordable courtyard condominium units in Troy. Our plate is full for sure but there’s always room for more. Our project list proves out our mantra, ‘Trusted Affordable Proactive.’
Shamless Plug: Anything we should know about that you have percolating?
Yes, we just kicked off a new initiative called ARCHTOBER: Troy Edition! A month-long festival celebrating architecture, architects and all the creatives responsible for our built environment. Did you know we have over a dozen architecture firms in Troy? Most are within a few blocks of each other downtown.
To find out more about this exciting series go to the TAP website and see the robust calendar line up of TAPpy Hours, films, trivia, hard hat tours, webinars, book talks, lectures, and a great closing party that will see us form a collaborative event with fellow arts organization Collar Works and their annual Mad Collar Party. Collaboration is a big part of this series and we have partnered up with several for profit architectural firms, and arts and cultural organizations including the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, the Arts Center of the Capital Region, Tech Valley COG, the Hart Cluett Museum, 518 Film Network, Picture Lock One, WMHT, Architecture +, Mosaic Associates, ME Studio, Lightexture, the North Eastern New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and more!
If you know a young person who’s curious about the profession please bring them to ARCHTOBER one of our events.
