HPC Votes to Approve Armory Project

Rick Rector, chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, called it "the most major thing we have dealt with." HPC member Peggy Polenberg, who works as a buyer's agent for Eric Galloway, declared, "We should be doing cartwheels down Warren Street." On Friday morning, the Historic Preservation Commission voted to move ahead on granting a certificate of appropriateness to the design for the Galvan Community Learning Center, the adaptive reuse of the Hudson Armory for the Hudson Area Library, a senior center, and, in a new addition to the building, a community health center--the one caveat being that if significant changes are made to the plan as a consequence of the site plan review by the Planning Commission the project must come back before the HPC.

The approval did not come without the HPC expressing some concern about modernity and differentiating between old and new. Rector observed that the portico proposed for the entrance to the library on State Street "looks very classic not modern." Architect for the project, Vincent Benic explained he didn't want to have "a completely modern intervention" or to have this entrance compete with the original entrance to the building on North Fifth Street. He added that the more classical design of the portico "suited a library function."

HPC member Tony Thompson also had problems with the portico, saying it was not clear what the rationale was for having a Classic Revival entrance instead of continuing with "the modern feel of the courtyard." Benic reiterated that he felt that "putting something completely modern against the building was not appropriate."

The design for the new addition to the building, to be constructed on the footprint of the 1957 garage, has changed since the plans were first presented to the community in December 2012. The element that echoed the turrets of the original building has disappeared, and a parapet with a cornice has been introduced.

The design for the addition drew some criticism from the HPC. Concerned that there might be confusion about what was old and what was new, HPC member Phil Forman asked if they had considered "a more aggressive approach to differentiation." Winnie Moy, Benic's associate, explained that "putting a really modern addition on the building would take attention away from the original building." Benic added that they wanted to make sure the building, with the addition, was viewed "in terms of its totality."

Thompson commented that the design for the addition "seems to be taking architecture from a different period--a 1930s civic building." He questioned the introduction of a cornice "that exists nowhere else." Moy responded, "It's corbelling, and that appears on the drill shed."

Although Thompson, Forman, and Rector all expressed concerns that the portico and the addition were not modern enough or differentiated enough, the HPC made no requests for changes, as they had with the elevator tower proposed for the Hudson Opera House. In supporting the approval of the design for the Armory, Forman addressed this apparent inconsistency by saying that the original design proposed for the elevator tower, which "let the tower mirror the iconic building," was "a tremendous missed opportunity" to differentiate new construction from old. He then dismissed concerns about the portico proposed for the library entrance by saying that it "comes down to a matter of choice or taste."

In a voice vote, Rector, Forman, Polenberg, and David Voorhees favored moving ahead with granting a certificate of appropriateness. Only Thompson dissented, saying that "adding two historic styles to the building turns it into a mongrel." Architect member Jack Alvarez recused himself from the deliberation and the vote for reasons unexplained; Scott Baldinger was absent from the meeting.
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