The streetscape along Fairview Avenue heading home from ShopRite is soon to change. The buildings now standing between Oakwood and Parkwood boulevards, including a once handsome early 20th-century Colonial Revival house, will be demolished to make way for a pair of three-story apartment buildings with a total of twenty-six market rate units.
The project, which was first presented to the Planning Board on June 12, 2023, was finally granted site plan approval, with conditions, at the Planning Board meeting that took place on May 29, 2025. At that meeting, Planning Board chair Theresa Joyner seemed cognizant of calls for her resignation when she told the applicant and his attorney, "I want it on the record that we are not the reason you have been here for two years." Lou Pierro and Charles Gottlieb only smiled in response.
Now that the project has been approved, there is undoubtedly great curiosity about what it will actually look like. The last rendering Gossips shared is this one, which dates from April 2024 and gives only the vaguest impression of what we can expect.
After Thursday's meeting, Gossips contacted Walter Chatham, the architect for the project, to ask if he could provide better renderings. He obliged by sending these, which is he advised "were done quickly using a commercial rendering program with the intention of showing the massing."
Chatham offered these additional caveats. The renderings were done before the Department of Transportation required the buildings be set back from Fairview Avenue about 10 feet farther to accommodate future widening of this would-be stroad. Regarding the design, Chatham told Gossips, "Now that we are finally through the planning process and all of the myriad changes required, we can focus on refining the design."
A personal concern is this for the historic marker currently on the site, at the corner of Fairview Avenue and Oakwood Boulevard. It informs people that this was the site of Camp Kelly, where the 128th New York Infantry Regiment was assembled and mustered into service in the Civil War on September 4, 1862.
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| Photo courtesy Historic Hudson |
A historical marker sits on the Parkwood Boulevard side of the project, denoting the 1862 muster site of the New York State Volunteer Infantry Columbia Dutchess Regiment that served in the Union Army until 1865. Ms. Heinz said the area was not in a historic district but was fairly certain that the applicant had no intention of removing the sign. Ms. Polidoro suggested that the applicant contact the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.To Gossips knowledge, the historic marker has not been mentioned at the Planning Board meeting since.
COPYRIGHT 2025 CAROLE OSTERINK
This marker is not in a great spot owing to the fact that few people take a casual stroll along Fairview Ave and therefore rarely encounter it.
ReplyDeleteIf need be, the marker can still be attached directly to the new building's wall if it's current position impedes construction.
That said, a marker should be erected on the waterfront since this is where the 128th embarked the SS Oregon on Sep 4, 1862 and was subsequently shipped to NYC.
We've already got one historic marker at the waterfront, commemorating Lafayette, because no one could be certain what sites in the city he may have actually visited. In this case, we know where Camp Kelly was. It was on the site of the Hudson Fairgrounds which is now the Boulevards neighborhood. The marker belongs where it is or somewhere near there.
DeleteBoy, I sure hope that DOT doesn't fail to install a traffic light at that intersection. If they don't do it before the crashes pile up, they'll have to do it after. Of course, it will be a light that will annoy most drivers on Fairview, with many doing their best to beat the red light or just run it.
ReplyDeleteMarket rate rents to live on Fairview? What an exciting prospect! At least they will be within walking distance of Dollar General.
ReplyDeleteSounds good to me. Actual apartments for people that aren’t ready to buy a fixer upper on Union. And I’m sure the market will appropriately pice it for Fairview. That’s how markets work. And they’re not asking me to subsidize it with my tax dollars. What a concept!
DeleteTell me you're elitist without telling me you're elitist.
DeleteWholeheartedly agree, Jack. I wouldn't expect this to be priced like the ill-fated Depot Lofts. Unlike Mill St, it's also a lot less car-dependent: It's in easy walking distance to Aldi and other stores that real-world people actually need. It's housing that existing Hudson residents would consider - without the 65% or more property tax rebate that most PILOTed developments feature.
DeleteIf Peter Jung wanted to contribute to solving Hudson's housing crisis he'd shut down his art store, which is closed 100% of the time anyway, convert it into a rental unit and become a landlord.
NIMBY/BANANA masquerading as enlightenment/progressiveness.
DeleteGet ready Oakwood residents and adjacent streets.
ReplyDeleteSchool bus/ construction vehicle/ parent rushing to drop child to school/ school bus/ construction vehicle/ parent rushing to get to work.
And by all means please continue to disregard all the stop signs.
Vanessa Grener
"I want it on the record that we are not the reason you have been here for two years."
ReplyDeleteTheresa - what is done is done.
You have entered into the record enough clear evidence to show your partiality and capriciousness. Not to mention procedural malfeasance.
It is ironic, though not unexpected, that Kamal's prejudiced appointment of you as chair of the planning board will ruin any shot he had at a legacy.
In my opinion, these large apartment buildings are out of place and degrade the both the character and environment of the City. Hudson needs a complete moratorium on any and all new apartment buildings. No variances, no merging of lots. If someone wants to build something, let them make it 3 stories max., one house per lot. Problem solved.
ReplyDeleteThis is not out of character with anything else on Fairview. It’s barely within the Hudson municipal boarder and that area seems more spiritually Greenport. Build this in a historic district? No. But let’s be realistic, this is a half empty lot by a pizza takeout, nail salon, and across from a gas station. In my opinion it’s an esthetic improvement.
DeleteI'm pretty sure the neighbors over there on Parkwood, Glenwood and Oakwood would heartily disagree. This seems to me another example of local govt., rather than representing the interests of the people who elected them, disregarding the interests of their constituents in favor of projects that will benefit developers and future tenants largely imported from other localities.
DeleteThank for the recent post on QUIMBY. Truly informative and all should take a look. This is certainly not QUIMBY. Chatham should know better. As an architect he had to study historical context and he's shown us he can do some well crafted buildings. Kowtowing is not a good look for a professional's portfolio.
ReplyDelete