Hudson Terrace

Let me start off by saying that what AIMCO and Evergreen Partners are proposing for Hudson Terrace, as reported in the Register-Star, is something that the Waterfront Advisory Steering Committee did not anticipate. We knew that in 2012 the development would be fulfilling its forty-year federally subsidized mortgage agreement, which provided tax breaks on all levels, but we imagined that we needed to prepare for the possibility that the property would be sold to someone looking to redevelop this prime site overlooking the river into high-end condominiums. Because of that expectation, the new zoning for the Waterfront Revitalization Area designates the area surrounding Promenade Hill as the only section of the city where there will be mandatory inclusionary zoning, to ensure that a percentage of the units will be affordable. We discussed establishing limits on the height of any new buildings constructed there and gave expression to our desire that, instead of being a wall separating the city from the river with a moat of asphalt further segregating the people who live in Hudson Terrace from the rest of the city, the configuration of any new development would re-establish the continuation of Union, Columbia, and State streets to Promenade Hill and re-integrate this part of Hudson with the rest of the city, as it originally was.

My first hint that we were preparing for the wrong scenario came several months ago, in a meeting of a committee created to define how we would implement inclusionary zoning in Hudson. Present at that meeting were Bruce Levine, developer of Crosswinds, and Kevin Walker, representing Eric Galloway. In the meeting, I learned from Bruce Levine that what is considered “market rate” in Hudson is too low to allow the construction of new rental units to be profitable. In order to make sense economically (according to Levine), new units had to be built in accordance with some kind of income-based program so they can qualify for state and federal aid for construction and tax credits after construction. I also learned from Kevin Walker that Eric Galloway is considering making all the apartments in the giant building he is proposing for the corner of Fifth and Warren “low income” so that he can qualify for state and federal grants to build it.

In this meeting also, I got my first hint that it might be occurring to Mayor Scalera that more subsidized, low-income housing would not increase the City's tax base and did not translate into adequate tax revenues for the City's future.

Last summer, City Treasurer Eileen Halloran announced that she had made contact with the owners of Hudson Terrace and invited the aldermen from the First and Second Wards--the two wards in which Hudson Terrace is located--to participate in a conference call with a representative of the owners. She had made contact not with the owners but with AIMCO (American Investment and Management Company), and the person we all gathered in her office on August 5 to talk with was Jesse Curll, Vice President for Northeast Asset Management for AIMCO.

In that conversation, the talk was all about Tompkins Terrace in Beacon as the model for what could happen with Hudson Terrace. Tompkins Terrace, to quote its website, is “not far from the Hudson River”--just south of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. This development is a contemporary of Hudson Terrace and of strikingly similar design. In the case of Tompkins Terrace, they rehabbed the old buildings-—installing HVAC systems, redoing the kitchens and bathrooms with new fixtures and appliances, “redesigning” the porches, replacing the windows and the exterior siding. To do the same for Hudson Terrace, they were looking for assistance from HAP (Housing Assistance Program), IRS tax credits, the opportunity to issue tax-exempt bonds, and an extension or reinstatement (for another 30 to 40 years) of the PILOT/Article V agreement that Hudson Terrace currently has with the City of Hudson.

After that teleconference, there was no further word from AIMCO until just before Christmas. On December 16, Eileen Halloran received a call from Charlie Allen, representing a new player: Evergreen Partners. On December 22, the same group met—-this time with the mayor as well—-to hear what Charlie Allen had to say.

Eileen reported that Evergreen Partners is entering into a joint venture with AIMCO to “acquire the interest in the property,” provided that they succeed in getting various tax credits and “an extension of the current PILOT with the City of Hudson.” First order of business, Evergreen is submitting an application to the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) for funding, and they want a letter of support from the mayor. The application is due on February 11, and I suspect that the presentation on January 12 means that they’re also looking for a resolution of support from the Common Council.

This time out, Tompkins Terrace was not mentioned as the model. The new exemplar is Henry Hudson Town Houses in Glens Falls, now known as Village Green Apartments. Here the “rehab” was a bit more dramatic. They demolished the 1971 buildings, which looked a lot like Hudson Terrace, and constructed new buildings, which look a lot like a big version of Crosswinds. According to the Evergreen Partners website, “the comprehensive redesign of the property features a community center, playground, and new site layout.”

Interestingly, Charlie Allen told Eileen Halloran that Evergreen “may have an interest in turning Washington Hose into a community center” for the property. Yikes! This is exactly the outcome that the four aldermen who opposed selling Washington Hose feared. We believe that Washington Hose, positioned as it is at the entrance to Promenade Hill, needs to remain a public building in the control of the City of Hudson. Now we have this group of “national housing specialists,” who are looking to acquire “the interest in the property,” suggesting that they might like to acquire Washington Hose as well to remedy what they see as a shortcoming with Hudson Terrace: the lack of "community space.”