Five years ago, 432 Warren Street was at risk of collapsing and leaving a tragically regrettable gap in the streetscape. Gossips included it as No. 4 in a series documenting at-risk buildings in Hudson called Nine Not to Ignore. This is what the building looked like then.
Photo: Zillow (2019) |
Photo: The Gossips of Rivertown (2010) |
Have you ever seen an uglier building? Get ready to see it revived. This 8-unit project up in Hudson, New York, is about to kick into high gear. . . .
As you know, real estate is all about location and this eyesore is dead center on Warren Street--the main commercial corridor of this artsy little city that is a popular escape for New Yorkers. It's got great restaurants, a major antiques scene, and it's right on the Hudson River with a direct train to Penn Station. Hudson is enjoying a bit of a boom as so many are looking to work from more interesting places. . . .
The posts on Instagram provoked Michael Hofmann, before he became mayor's aide and was known only as the author of the Hudson Breathe Act, to send an email to the Common Council with the subject line: "This is gentrification. What are we doing about it?" In the email, Hofmann warns:
If left to their own devices, Duffy and Nierdo [the owners and Instagram posters] will convert this building into yet another set of unaffordable units, which are already being marketed to affluent escapees of New York City, to make as much money as they possibly can. This is not what Hudson is asking for.
Hofmann's entire email can be found here.
That was December 2020. Now, almost four years later, the restoration of the building is complete, and the ground floor retail space is being advertised on Zillow. The rent for the space is $5,000 a month.
What about the 7 apartments?. I guess they didn't do the set back 3rd floor? I wonder what they are renting for. I remember the Phil Gellert building very well, it was a disgrace.
ReplyDeleteThey did do the fourth floor. As promised, it is not visible from Warren Street, but if you go around the back, in Prison Alley, you'll see it.
DeleteYou can see the 4th floor from across the street - especially the AC units onthe roof. I live next door and it's been 5 years of contruction hell. The owners live in central NJ with no ties to the area.
ReplyDeleteI know of another neighbor of that building who is extremely disappointed with what has been going on there for too long. He only had bad words to say about the owner from Jersey who seems to not know what she is doing and is simply not a nice person.
DeleteAll true, Bill.
DeleteAh, a reminder of the moral panic of 2020. Not surprising to hear if they haven't been the best construction neighbors with the kind of welcome they got. So, almost five years later and the same people that were so critical of these self-funded investors became the champions of taxpayer funded mega developments of billionaires.
ReplyDelete