By DAVID BERTOLA
Business First

Tom and Jason Yots don't run a traditional father-and-son business - plumbing, roofing, or heating and air conditioning. Theirs is in historic preservation.

They help people understand the myriad research, financial, tax-credit, legal and other elements involved in refurbishing a historic site.

"It's not just a financial disconnect. People have a fear of the process," said Jason, a lawyer who specializes in preservation.

Sometimes, a municipality may find itself the owner of a 100-year-old building. It may want to retain it, spin it off to a 501(c)3 nonprofit or seek proposals for how to best use it.

This is where the Yotses come in.

"We help with ideas of what to do with the building and the process for qualifying it for grants," said Tom.

Since July 3, the two have run Preservation Studio. But their history of preserving historic homes and buildings dates back farther.

For 31 years, Tom Yots taught chemistry at Lewiston-Porter High School. In 2002, at age 57, he earned a master's degree in architecture at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

His goal was always to work in historic preservation. The same year he completed his master's, he began doing just that - qualifying buildings for grants and tax credits. He's worked on projects such as the Artspace lofts, the Electric Tower in Buffalo and the United Office building in Niagara Falls.

"The one thing I could offer was to give people ideas as to what to do with their buildings," he said. He makes structural suggestions such as pointing out joists that can't handle loads. But since he's not a licensed architect, he can't design solutions. Instead, he'll recommend having an engineer take a look.

When financing and other questions beyond architecture and planning were needed, Tom found he was ringing Jason's phone more and more. Over the last 12 years, Jason's law practice has evolved to the point where nearly all those he provides counsel for are community development clients.

Jason Yots said historic preservation allows him to be creative. A onetime partner at Cannon Heyman and Weiss LLP, he likes not having to work 3,000 hours a year any more, and has come to enjoy molding the scope of projects.

As examples, a proposal for a 100-unit condominium in a sleepy Western New York town may not be immediately accepted. Viable solutions under this type of circumstance, and steering others away from applying for multimillion-dollar loans when they may not be able to recoup that in rent, are areas where he's helped.

The two are putting the finishing touches on a business plan, and have been working with the Small Business Development Center at Buffalo State College to get their business up and running.

Throughout Buffalo, Lockport and Niagara County, their client list totals about a half-dozen.

Tom's career path was perhaps inevitable, since history has always been part of who he is. He grew up in Mohawk, in one of the first homes built in the small Herkimer County town after the Revolutionary War.

"The village burned during the war," explained Tom, who today is the historian for the City of Niagara Falls and chairman of its preservation commission. He lives in the James G. Marshall House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"I've always had an appreciation for older architecture," said Tom, a fact not lost on Jason.

He recalls that in his younger days, when his dad had to drive the family from the Falls to Buffalo, Tom would always take the scenic route.

"I thought the only way to get to Buffalo was to drive past the Darwin Martin House," he said.