At the informal Common Council meeting last Monday, Mill Street resident Jack Hornickel raised the issue of the sale of the Mill Street property to Kearney Realty & Development. He pointed out that according of the agreement of sale, which was approved by the Common Council in January 2023, the closing should have taken place by May 3, 2026, a date now past. Because the closing had not yet happened, the developer was now in default.
Hornickel spoke of the two other properties the City had agreed to sell to Kearney in January 2023: a parcel on Rossman Avenue and the lot at the corner of State and Fourth streets. The plan for Rossman Avenue was abandoned early on because of problems with the site; there has been no progress on the project proposed for State and Fourth streets since March 2025. Hornickel told the Council, "If the developer is asking for an extension to pursue a closing on the Mill Street property, you should be aware that they are not fulfilling their other obligations under that contract."
It is within the powers of the Common Council to deny an extension of the sale agreement, but Gossips has heard that Kearney may have already gotten an extension on the closing without the knowledge or authorization of the Common Council. How that came about is not known, nor is it known what may happen going forward.
Regarding the lawsuit filed last year, an interim decision was made on June 15 denying motions to dismiss brought by the City of Hudson, Kearney Realty & Development, and Hudson City School District. The legal action is moving forward. The respondents have until July 30 to submit "responsive papers."
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4 reasons to move this project away from Mill Street:
ReplyDelete1. The City's 2021 plan (p.52) ranks it last and slowest of its homeownership sites.
2. Mayor Ferris specifically ran against it last year: "We need affordable housing, Mill Street just isn't the location for this particular project."
3. Part of the site is in FEMA's AE flood zone
4. The City of Hudson pays Michelle Tullo the "Housing Justice Director" $100k plus year in comp and benefits for exactly the following work;
move it to a dry lot like 604 Washington Street already owned by the City or other less expensive areas to build.
Surely you can get Peter Frank from Friends of Hudson Youth's permission to build around the Oakdale Lake area?
Also funny bit of irony, the City of Hudson plan was co-authored by Pattern for Progress, whose board includes Kearney Realty's founder, and where Chris Brown, formerly of the CEDC, now works.
www.hudsonny.gov/departments/housing/plans_studies.php