Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) is pleased to announce that Sustainable Community Associates' (SCA) proposal has been selected to move forward into negotiation for the redevelopment of the former warehouse and vacant land into a mixed-use development that includes residential, retail, co-working office, and live/work spaces. This early phase of negotiation includes the Board's critical review of SCA's development program and financing proposal.
"SCA's proposal scored exceptionally well and I am enthusiastic about the ambitious development program," said HDC Director Sheena Salvino. HDC plans to continue communications with SCA about moving forward with the project. "This was a well thought out proposal, but we have a long way to go. Developing a healthy working partnership with the developer, the City of Hudson, and local stakeholders is going to be crucial to this project's success," continued Salvino.
Board President, Duncan Calhoun said, "SCA demonstrates a depth of understanding with regard to building and financing complex infill projects. I was also pleased to see that they did their research and developed a project that addresses local needs."
The site, formerly owned and operated as a warehousing facility for KAZ, was donated to HDC in 2010. Since then, HDC has maintained ownership of the property with the goal of redeveloping the site into a mixed-use development.The following rendering, from the architectural plans submitted with the proposal, accompanied the press release:
We see the RFP as the first step in a partnership between Sustainable Community Associates (SCA), Hudson Development Corporation, and the City of Hudson. Enclosed you will find our proposal, reflecting our sense of how this land can best be used to meet HDC’s development goals. By virtue of the RFP process, this proposal has not yet benefitted from the opinions of the community, or from collaboration with the City or the site neighbors. If selected, we would like [to] draw connections between this site and the surrounding uses and refine this proposal to best speak to those opportunities. This site is interesting because it lies at the intersection of the residential and industrial zones of Hudson, and because of its proximity to the waterfront and train station. But it cannot reach its full potential for economic impact, community benefit, or aesthetic quality without a community master planning process.The timeline proposed by SCA begins with a six-month planning process to create a master plan. "Sustainable Community Associates, Hudson Development Corporation, and the City of Hudson will work with neighbors and community stakeholders to develop a plan for the central waterfront district."
The proposal stresses that green design is central to SCA's mission:
[W]e are interested in this site because of how we see it advancing a sustainable lifestyle, and because Hudson embraces a car-free, environmentally conscious mindset. We anticipate designing to LEED Gold standards, utilizing geothermal or other high-efficiency heating, and maximizing passive solar heating and natural ventilation.
This site is located to help address stormwater quality issues in Hudson. We will study existing conditions and propose stormwater quality improvements to be implemented, including potential locations of sand filters, vortex separators, rain gardens, and bioswales. The right combination of natural and engineered solutions would improve the area’s aesthetics and functionality, and with interpretive signage can also provide a valuable educational tool about water quality issues.Gossips will continue following this story with interest as this early phase of negotiations begins.
COPYRIGHT 2016 CAROLE OSTERINK
I wonder if there are enough parking spaces for the proposed parking lot, to accommodate parking for the proposed hotel, as long as it could be secured for the hotel on a long term basis. That certainly would be an excellent solution to that particular conundrum if there were.
ReplyDeleteWith only 44 additional parking places planned in the SCA proposal, it would be interesting to know the year-round statistics for use of the existing parking lot.
DeleteNotice that Hank Von Ritter's land is incorporated into the site plan. Presumably, that would only happen after the City acknowledges the combined sewer which runs beneath it. Some of us are having a hard time convincing the Hudson River Estuary Program that this is the case, while it's busy producing a Water Resource Summary for the city.
The proposal stresses that "Hudson embraces a car-free" mindset. Doesn't the idea of "additional parking spaces" contradict this worthy goal?
Deletetook a look at the SCA website and from what i can gather, they have one (1) project under their belt. thirty three condos in Oberlin OH that all look exactly like the ugly stuff they want to build here, the pictures are on the website. one owner, Josh Rosen, who has a degree in politics from Oberlin College, not engineering or architecture. with a proven track record like that what could go wrong?
ReplyDeleteWhy can't we, as a community, look at stormwater control with anything like the intelligence this group proposes to bring to a single site?
ReplyDeleteWe should ask these people to design our comprehensive stormwater control plan, but first we need to realize that we don't have one.
Big Money will kill every reason why this town was growing.
ReplyDeletehow terribly sad