Last night, at the informal Common Council meeting, Rob Perry, superintendent of Public Works, reported that the RFP (request for proposal) for Seventh Street Park "should be going out soon." This morning, Gossips received the following press release from Friends of the Public Square (FOPS).
Construction to renovate the 7th Street Park will begin in the spring of 2025. Friends of the Public Square, which has a memorandum of understanding with the City, has announced that a contract for the renovation is now ready to go out to bid. Groundbreaking will occur after a contractor has been selected in a competitive bidding process. Soon the construction fences will go up, and groundbreaking will be announced.
The detailed bid documents were produced by landscape architects Starr Whitehouse and a team from FOPS, along with various experts, Mayor Kamal Johnson, and the City of Hudson Department of Public Works. The bidding process lasts 30 days.
FOPS has raised over $1 million to support the first phase of work, which includes new pathways and benches, and the repositioning of the Veterans Memorial to Warren Street in a new Veterans Plaza, as well as landscaping and the infrastructure necessary to build a new fountain.
The park design reflects the input received from numerous community meetings and surveys to have a park that allows for gathering, entertainment, and perhaps most importantly a functioning fountain. FOPS also worked with the American Legion Post 184 and VFW Post 1314 on the repositioning of the memorial to its new Warren Street location.
Fundraising continues for the fountain and its surrounding plaza.
Katherine Kanaga, co-chair of the FOPS board stated, “We remain confident that generous donors and other grants will meet the remaining shortfall, and the fountain will take its rightful place at the center of Hudson’s Public Square.”
The challenges of updating a historic park for contemporary uses, while maintaining its original design intent and character, have been a fundamental component of the design process. Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects worked with FOPS and the City of Hudson to set forth a phased plan to bring back the Public Square Park to the forefront of the public imagination, while accommodating programming and activities which speak to the patrons of today and tomorrow.
Friends of the Public Square Hudson Inc is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit formed to renovate the 7th Street Park (the Public Square) in partnership with the City of Hudson. Further information is available on their website–fopshudson.com.
Looking forward to the improvements!
ReplyDeleteHi Katharine & FOPS team -
ReplyDelete🙏 Great work and thank you for rejuvenating that critical part of town.
⛲️ Maybe I missed the update but what did you guys decide about the goat head vs. the Venus de Milo inspired statue at the top of the fountain?
Fun fact Dorothy: Missouri's state animal is the Missouri mule… (yes Bovidae and Equidae are distinct)... but New York's state animal (like MIT) is the industrious beaver… and the NY State Coat of Arms also feature ladies (albeit Justice and Liberty) and of course the 🇺🇸 🦅.
The state used to be based with excelsior vibes.
So if a timeless symbol of Western civilization and the transition from classical to the Hellenistic styles in ancient Greek art (itself emphasizing naturalism and movement) offends someone… can we at least stick to New York related heraldry. Or a whale!
And re: funding. I believe the Spark folks are about to donate a big public park (basketball and pickle ball courts?) on... Mill Street... maybe you all can join forces?
💲Please don't forget to plan and raise money for long-term hardscape and structural repairs for both parks so that the City and shrinking tax paying populations is not left on the hook for costly non-standard maintenance down the road.
White Whales > White Elephants
Thank you again for the initiative and leveraging our city's great architects.