A Change of Plan

Back in December 2016, the Historic Preservation Commission was asked to grant a certificate of appropriateness for the demolition of 718-720 Union Street.

It was a strange and unloved building. Not originally constructed for human habitation, it had been converted into an apartment house and became probably the worst example of a Hudson slum dwelling. When the building was purchased late in 2016, the sale was contingent on being able to demolish the building. The new owner maintained it was structurally unsound and a threat to public safety, and he did not want to be "the custodian of a hazard." Once the building was demolished, it was his expressed intention to build a studio and residence on the site.

In applying for a certificate of appropriateness, the new owner suggested that the building was constructed in the 1940s as some sort of garage and storage facility. It was later revealed by a commenter on Gossips that the building was the stables of Silas W. Tobey, whose Picturesque home once stood at 729 Warren Street.

The HPC refused to grant a certificate of appropriateness for the demolition, but in the end, Ray Jurkowski, the engineer retained by the City of Hudson, and Craig Haigh, code enforcement officer, ordered the building demolished in the interest of public safety. The demolition took place in February 2017.

Now, a year after the building was demolished, the site is being marketed as "Buildable Land in Hudson's Core Commercial District."
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