The Other Kearney Project

On Wednesday, the Zoning Board of Appeals held public hearings on Mill Street Lofts and State Street Lofts--both projects being proposed by Kearney Realty & Development. There were many people present at the hearing to comment about the buildings proposed for Mill Street, and Gossips has reported what they had to say. No one was there, however, to comment about the building proposed for the lot at the corner of North Fourth and State streets. Since I was there, and I have serious concerns about this building, I decided to share my concerns with the ZBA. I will try to recall what I said off the cuff on Wednesday night and repeat it here.

I expressed my concern about density and all the variances needed, having to do with lot coverage. In order to accommodate 24 apartments, the building needs to take up nearly all of the lot. According to the Schedule of Bulk and Area Regulations for Residential Districts, the project requires 7,200 square feet of useable outdoor space--300 square feet for every unit. Kearney wants to reduce that to 1,200 square feet. The useable outdoor space apparently is the little trapezoid in the lower right corner of the site plan (below) labeled "Outdoor Seating Area with Benches." 

What may be most disturbing about the design for this building is that the "front" of the building is not on State Street or on Fourth Street but rather on Long Alley. The entrance to the apartment building and the entrance to the commercial space are both from Long Alley and are located behind a row of ten angle parking spaces—one reserved for the building manager and four designated as handicapped parking spaces.

Unfortunately, although this building will be across the street from the historic Hudson Almshouse, which is individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a locally designated landmark, is half a block away from the locally designated North Fourth Street Extension to the Warren Street Historic District, will be visible from Warren Street and the Warren Street Historic District, and is on the Fourth Street Transept, a important feature of the city's original urban design, the site is not actually in a historic district. As a consequence, the Historic Preservation Commission, whose input regularly helps proposed buildings evolve into something more in keeping with Hudson's authentic historic architecture, will not be called upon to opine on the design or the orientation of this building.  

The Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board are the only regulatory boards that will be weighing in on this building.

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