Tiffany Greenwaldt-Simon reported today in the Register-Star that Penrose Bricks & Mortar | Heart & Soul is interested in buying the former John L. Edwards school building to develop as apartments for low-income seniors: "Developer looks to buy Hudson JLE school for senior housing."
This isn't the first time a developer proposed adapting the building for housing. In June 2021, Adirondack Community Development expressed interest in buying the building for use as housing. Their initial plan involved constructing a second building, five stories high, close to State Street.
Six months later, the plan had changed. In December 2021, Adirondack was proposing demolishing the mid-century school building and constructing something new in its place.
For reasons unknown, Adirondack Community Development never pursued their plan, but you can read about it here and here.
In more recent memory, in 2023, Hudson Development Corporation proposed turning the building into a kind of community center. The plan involved satellite classrooms for Columbia-Greene Community College, a commercial kitchen for culinary training, a daycare center, as well City Hall offices, the Senior Center, and the Youth Department.
HDC entered into an contract with Hudson City School District to buy the building, but part of the agreement was a six-month due diligence period. In December 2024, five months into the due diligence period, HDC announced they would not be pursuing their plan to acquire their building because their investigations had revealed "serious and extensive environmental issues"--primarily "mold, asbestos, and 10,000 gallons of fuel oil in a buried tank."
It will be interesting to see how the latest proposal develops.
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