Since her graduation in 1980 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a master’s degree in urban and environmental studies, Nancy Kupiec has demonstrated time and again the role historic preservation can—and ought—to play in neighborhood, community, and economic development. 
 

The former St. John's School in Albany,  a Vesta Construction project.

As executive director of South End Improvement Corporation, Nancy sponsored the nomination of Albany’s South End /Groesbeckville Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places and then oversaw the renovation of numerous homes in the South End using Historic Preservation Investment Tax Credits and other funding mechanisms. A façade improvement program that Nancy developed while at South End Improvement Corporation for residents to participate in their neighborhood’s revitalization, regardless of their income levels, has been emulated in other areas of the city.

After leaving South End Improvement Corporation in 1986, Nancy administered New York State’s Housing Trust Fund program in Albany and coordinated the development of many not-for-profit-sponsored housing sites throughout the city’s historic districts. Several of those projects received Preservation Merit Awards from Historic Albany Foundation. Among her accomplishments as planning director of Albany’s Community Development Agency, Nancy organized a rental rehab program sponsored by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and she authored Albany’s first Comprehensive Homeless Housing Assistance Plan.
 

The Equinox Building on Central Avenue, a Vesta Construction Project.

Since 1991, Nancy has been president of Vesta Construction, a for-profit project development and general contracting corporation she established to provide construction work opportunities for unemployed or displaced workers in building housing for homeless and special needs populations, usually though government-sponsored projects. Her company has renovated more than 30 buildings throughout the Capital District, with a total investment of over $10.5 million. And her domestic violence shelters, youth shelters, transitional apartments for addicted and recovering individuals, and housing for persons with AIDS have all been created with sensitivity to the historic design and integrity of the buildings in which they are located—two of those projects have won Preservation Merit Awards. And she often generously donates her grant writing and building evaluation services to various not-for-profit organizations.

Nancy Kupiec, who is at least as gratified by the new functions of the buildings she works on as she is in keeping Albany’s historic building stock in productive use, has dedicated her career to helping both the places and the people that make Albany special. And many people hope she continues to do so for years to come.