At Hudson, smaller headcount means better class sizes

By JEANETTE WOLFBERG

HUDSON–The Hudson Housing Authority’s (HHA) redevelopment partner acknowledged they could alleviate concerns about the cost of proposed new construction by lowering building heights, reducing the number of apartments, and reconfiguring parking, at the HHA Board of Commissioners meeting August 19. HHA’s Executive Director Jeffrey Dodson attributed some current problems to funding shortages, at its residents’ meeting September 3.

The Hudson Housing Authority (HHA) runs the 135-unit income-restricted Bliss Tower and Columbia Apartments in Hudson’s Second Ward. It has decided to redevelop its land, and last year picked Mountco Construction and Development Corporation of Scarsdale as redevelopment partner. The partnership shared its goals with Alexander Gorlin Architects, which sketched an ambitious vision of how the site would look when completed: five apartment buildings, together holding 300 units, around a public park with grass, trees, a playground, athletic facilities, and maybe a garden. The building heights would range from four to seven stories. A variety of building heights was considered a positive feature. Much parking would be underground.

There would be enough new apartments for all of HHA’s current residents, plus additional apartments for “workforce housing” with a higher income range.

Mountco, the HHA, and Gorlin have constantly reminded the public that this proposal is preliminary and subject to change. In addition, they have divided the construction into two proposed phases. Initially, Phase 1 would include only one seven-story building, the five-story building, about 137 apartments, and subsurface parking, as well as three small parcels that the HHA can buy at half price and on which the partnership plans to erect three story town houses. The approvals and financing now being sought are for Phase 1. Thus Phase 2 is subject to even more modifications.

At the August 19 meeting, Mountco’s Development Director Eu Ting-Zambuto reported that, after reviewing their preliminary proposal, New York State recommended “value engineering” and a greater number of funding sources.

For value engineering, Ms. Ting-Zambuto said, they have to look at two “cost drivers”: the steel-concrete building frames and the subsurface parking. Framing buildings in steel and concrete costs more than framing them in wood, but laws require steel-concrete frames for buildings over five stories high. Therefore, Mountco would like the HHA Board to consider dropping the six and seven story buildings to five stories, Mountco’s Executive Vice President John Madeo announced remotely. This would reduce the cost about 10% and increase the parking ratio from 40% to 76% but reduce the total number of units (outside the 15 in the townhouses) to about 260, with only about 109 in the two long buildings proposed for Phase 1.

Reducing the building heights would mean adding to Phase 1 one building originally envisioned for Phase 2. Without the extra building, Phase 1 would lose about 28 apartments, leaving it with barely be enough units to relocate HHA’s current residents into. In addition, its fewer tenants together would not generate enough rent to make the project worthwhile, Mountco officers said.

Therefore, in addition to the townhouses, Phase 1 would now erect three buildings, all with five stories, instead of two buildings, one five story and one seven story. All three could arise without demolishing Bliss Tower. The modified total proposal would erect four five story buildings and one four story building. The two Phase 2 buildings would require demolishing Bliss.

“What we’d love to do is the higher the better,” said Mountco’s President Joel Mounty. But there are constraints.

Meanwhile, eliminating the subsurface parking would mean replacing the proposed park with a planned parking lot from the start, Ms. Ting-Zambuto acknowledged. Furthermore, the land proposed for the subsurface parking has a drop off that limits what can go there. Therefore, Mountco asked the board consider reducing building heights while keeping the parking subsurface.

“Fitting parking in becomes an art,” said Mr. Mounty. “The more parking, the less housing.”

For funding, the partnership is applying for more grants, loans, and tax credits. Some funding is available for commercial space, and the preliminary proposal does envision commercial space on the ground floor of one of the Phase 1 buildings, Ms. Ting-Zambuto observed. Unless, she said, the community preferred that building to have two to three additional housing units instead.

Somebody in the audience said one can build twice the number of housing units for less total cost in Greenport.

HHA Executive Director Dodson responded that the HHA needs to use the land it has.

The meeting took a different turn when Hudson Common Council member Margaret Morris (1st Ward), by remote speaker, repeatedly called the HHA “a failed agency” that has “failed residents for generations” and “quite frankly failed the low income people of Hudson for decades.” She mentioned an elevator that was shut down over a weekend without Mr. Dodson knowing about it.

In response, a tenant countered, “I can’t blame anybody on the board. They’re fighting for me. They’re the only people fighting for us. Give these people a chance to change my life. We’ve been waiting too long. I don’t need anybody jeopardizing my new home. Until we get the new building, we can’t say what its quality will be.”

Board Chair Revonda Smith said she has family still living in HHA buildings and “I joined the authority so I could help residents’ quality of life.”

When the HHA was interviewing potential redevelopment partners, the first question it asked was, “How is your proposal going to help tenants and residents?” Mr. Madeo recalled.

Mr. Dodson pointed out that one thing preventing the HHA from maintaining the quality it wants is underfunding.

“The HHA board reflects the mix of the community more than ever,” said Board Vice Chair Claire Cousin, who is also Supervisor of Hudson’s 1st Ward. “Before you say the HHA isn’t doing its job, please contact Mr. Dodson and the board. If you take a walk over to the 2nd Ward and meet the tenants, you’ll see what it’s really like. If you have a genuine concern for the tenants, throwing a wrench into this is not the thing to do. If you have an alternate proposal on how to house 100 households, come with it. Where would you like these families to go?”

“A project that demolishes Bliss and reconstruction of a habitable housing where they can live with dignity,” answered Ms. Morris.

“That’s what we’re doing,” said Ms. Cousin.

But, Ms. Morris said, “we’re looking at expanding the number of units. They’ve mismanaging 100 units. Now they’ll have the opportunity to mismanage 300 units. I’m for relocating the residents but not adding.”

Mr. Dodson reminded Ms. Morris that Mountco had just given them a presentation about reducing the number of planned units.

“Don’t you, as an elected official, get calls from people who’ve been evicted and need a place to stay?” Ms. Cousin asked Ms. Morris. “We should be working together.”

At the September 3 residents meeting, Mr. Dodson said that people who oppose the redevelopment are “using any means necessary” to present the HHA in a bad light. But the federal government has been underfunding the housing authorities for decades. “We’re supposed to be funded at 100%,” but sometimes are funded at only about 80%. As a result the HHA sometimes has “deferred maintenance for years.”

Commissioner Mary Decker, who lives in Bliss, said she saw people working on HHA’s grounds to maintain their appearance but she pointed out the necessity of also maintaining the building interior, where people live.

Mr. Dodson reported that sometimes the maintenance staff’s time is spent on “major problems,” such as water from an apartment’s faucet leaking into the electric system. He also reported that the HHA had already paid to fix its latest elevator problem, but the company that will do the repairs is waiting for the parts it needs and does not know when it will get them.

Mr. Dodson also thanked Spark of Hudson for giving HHA residents tickets to the Chatham Fair.