On Tuesday night, the Common Council heard presentations of two of the three proposals received for the Dunn Warehouse.
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| Photo: Matt McGhee |
The first presentation was made by Caitlin Baiada and Ben Fain. Their plan for the building is essentially the same plan proposed by CGS Group (later known as Dunn & Done LLC) in 2023. That plan, in which the City of Hudson retained ownership of the building, was abandoned earlier this year because of difficulty securing financing for the project. Baiada said Dunn & Done was unable to secure financing because they were not the owners of the building. Councilmember Margaret Morris (First Ward) explained that lenders wanted, not unreasonably, the owner of the building--i.e., the City of Hudson--to cosign on loan agreements, but the City declined to do so. When the Dunn & Done LLC plan failed, and the City issued a revised RFP for the redevelopment of the building, Baiada found a new partner in Ben Fain, who told the Council he "fell in love with Caitlin's vision for the Dunn" and described himself as a "spoiled nice guy who can fund something like this."
The Baiada/Fain plan involves two commercial spaces for lease to waterfront-related local businesses; a food and beverage space for lease to a casual restaurant or concession; an event space available to rent for private events and offered at little to no cost for community programming; outdoor recreational amenities.
Baiada told the Council, "Our vision is for a healthy, vibrant, and diverse waterfront for all, with Dunn serving as a welcoming community hub. . . . We believe the success of the waterfront's future depends on a fair and equitable access and use of Dunn Warehouse." She pointed out that the work already done by Dunn & Done could be transferred to this project and a team had already been assembled to do the work. She also presented a timeline for the project, which would see it completed in 24 months.
Armocida said their goal was to create a space that "positively impacts the community, a space that is welcoming to everyone." She spoke of the Dunn building as "the front porch to waterfront park."
The brewery's plans for the building include creating an ADA compliant second story area, totally private and separate from the taproom, to be used for community and private events. Armocida stressed Hudson Brewing Company's commitment to the community, saying, "We consider our community work at the core of what we do." She said the brewery has been in business for ten years, and in those ten years they have "built long-standing relationships with just about every nonprofit in and around the town and host events with the purpose of uplifting and supporting their work." She mentioned as examples Hudson Family Reunion, Operation Unite NY, and the Hudson Rotary Club. (It should acknowledged that Hudson Brewing Company's community commitment includes advertising on The Gossips of Rivertown.)
Hudson Brewing Company currently employs ten people but with the expansion hopes to increase the number of employees. Armocida said that all but one of the employees live within ten minutes of Hudson, and half of them, including the owner, were born and raised on Hudson. She concluded, "It's hard to get a more local local business."
Armocida spoke of "creating a physical connection between the waterfront space as it exists now and the other commerce in the area." She explained, "Our hope is that one of the benefits of the project will be to connect those two spaces in a way that feels really cohesive and organic."
Concluding her presentation, Armocida stated, "We are not asking for a PILOT with this project," and assured the Council, "We feel confident in our ability to execute this project."
The two presentations can be heard here, beginning at 8:06 and ending at 30:50.
The committee that reviewed the proposals has recommended that the Dunn Warehouse be sold to Hudson Brewing Company. The Common Council--with a new Council president and three new members--will vote on the sale of the building in January. Two of the three new councilmembers--Henry Haddad (First Ward) and Jason Foster (Third Ward)--were present at the meeting on Tuesday. The Council is not bound by the committee's recommendation, but Council president Tom DePietro advised, "When one proposal has a higher price than the other, we have to have very good reason for coming up and accepting the lower proposal." The Register-Star revealed last week, rather inappropriately, that the price offered by Hudson Brewing Company was $500,000.
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- Affiliation with local not-for-profits should be a red flag (given some of the local not for profits), not a winning attribute.
ReplyDelete- The City probably left a few hundred thousand on the table by not floating this in an open market, vs. sealed bids. That difference could have filled the budget deficit this year and saved taxpayers money.
- This committee vote shows that the previously City of Hudson procured "community input", which the Fain-Baiada bit was entirely based on, was just window dressing. When no longer needed to achieve the local-first insider outcome, it no longer mattered.
When people wonder why Manhattan became Manhattan, and Albany became Albany, and Hudson... failed to launch. It is 250 years of thousands of small decisions with this type of motivation:
Hudson Brewing Company currently employs ten people but with the expansion hopes to increase the number of employees. Armocida said that all but one of the employees live within ten minutes of Hudson, and half of them, including the owner, were born and raised on Hudson. She concluded, "It's hard to get a more local local business."
That community input was not procured by the city. It was done by Done & Dunn and turned into what is now basically the Ben Fain plan. It's uninspired and bland and worse, Ben isn't known for acting with celerity. There's barely any progress with Kaz. He should maybe bring that to a conclusion before hoarding more waterfront property.
ReplyDeleteIt seems you are maybe applying an inverse form of nativism here. The people behind Hudson Brewing are overwhelmingly local but first and foremost, they know what they are doing. That started Hudson's OG brewery at a time when that seemed like a risky proposition.
It's almost guaranteed that what they are proposing will work out because it's a business model that has worked for the past ten years. Not something that can necessarily be said about Ben judging by his rather spotty record across the river in Catskill.
Max - see below for Kristal's point on process and value maximization of sale price.
DeleteYour aside on Ben is not backed by evidence. Point taken (and gladly accepted) that the survey was not City of Hudson but the separate group. Thank you.
To be clear; Hudson Brewing runs a good business and both projects would benefit the waterfront.
We mainly took issue with nativist positioning, which should not be necessary when the business proposal is strong.
Now... when can we expect you to pay property taxes in Hudson, provide housing, or create jobs?
We heard that immigrants do that sort of thing...
Do you also pay this close attention to Claverack affairs? ;-)
The question was asked at the meeting as to why the meetings regarding the sale were held in secrecy. Open Meetings Law indicates that a public body may go into Executive Session in connection with real estate transactions in the following circumstances:
ReplyDeletethe proposed acquisition, sale or lease of real property or the proposed acquisition of
securities, or sale or exchange of securities held by such public body, but only when publicity would substantially affect the value thereof.
So why weren't the meetings noticed? Why is there no record of the discussions, and why was the public excluded?
As all things Hudson, the process has been peculiar. I think both parties would do a good job. They should have allowed open bidding to allow the best price for the people of Hudson’s property. That being said, I’d probably frequent a brewery and restaurant more than another “community hub.” However it was good to see that there was interest at all. Especially with the undertaking the project will no doubt be. But money for the city, economic activity and multiple tax revenues are a win for all.
ReplyDelete