Hudson's "New, Exciting Commercial District"

As predicted, Dan Kent and Dan Hubbell were at the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) meeting this morning seeking a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement for the revised plans for what the Galvan Foundation wants to construct at 75 North Seventh Street, across the street from the building now under construction, in the part of the city that Galvan has dubbed the "Depot District." 

Photo: Win Jackson

A little history of the Depot District and the IDA is in order. Early in 2021, when the project first came before the IDA, the plan was that the building on the west side of the street (75 North Seventh Street) would be low- and moderate-income housing, and the building on the east side of the street (now 76 North Seventh Street) would be market rate. But when the IDA decided they shouldn't be giving tax breaks to a market rate apartment project, Galvan redefined the building on the east side of the street as "workforce housing," for households with incomes between 80 and 130 percent of the area median income (AMI). 

In September 2021, the IDA voted to approve PILOTs for both buildings. 

While the construction of the building designated as "workforce housing" began in October 2023, no progress has been made on the other building--the one intended for households with incomes between 40 and 80 percent of the AMI. The building on the east side of the street was to be financed through banks and private investment; the building on the west side of the street was seeking state funding. The project applied for state funding twice and was twice denied. Earlier this year, Gossips learned that the project had been disqualified for state funding through NYS Homes and Community Renewal because three houses on the site had been demolished, eliminating four dwelling units, before funding for the new building had been secured. 

Today, Dan Kent told the IDA that they were looking at a new model for the building on the west side of the street, one that was closer to that of the building on the east side of the street, because the model they were using "no longer works." Of the building's 75 apartments, once meant to be for households with incomes between 40 and 80 percent of AMI, 15 (or 20 percent) would be "affordable" (incomes between 80 and 130 percent of AMI) and 60 (80 percent) would be market rate. He further explained the change by saying they didn't want to compete for state funding with the Hudson Housing Authority and the project being pursued by Kearney Realty and Development to build affordable housing on City-owned land. 

Kent and Hubbell maintained that the site plan for the building had not changed, so there was no need for the project to go back to the Planning Board. The appearance of the building seems to have changed somewhat since the Historic Preservation Commission granted a certificate of appropriateness in June 2022, so it's likely the project will be returning to the HPC. The first four renderings below show the design that was approved by the HPC. The final rendering was part of the presentation made to the IDA this morning.

The IDA plans to hire a consultant to analyze the PILOT request and its economic impacts. The PILOT application, the cover letter, and the presentation made to the IDA can be found here, here, and here.

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