(HUDSON, N.Y, March 27, 2024) – At its meeting last night, the Hudson City School Board accepted an offer from the Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) to purchase and develop the John L. Edwards School as a centralized community hub for Hudson residents.

The Hudson Development Corporation (HDC) – a nonprofit with the mission of promoting, supporting and growing Hudson’s businesses and workforce – was invited to present their vision for the vacant school at last night’s School Board meeting in the high school library, followed by questions.

“We were enthusiastic about sharing our thinking for this terrific midcentury building,” Christine Jones, Board President of HDC, said. “Our mission to foster sustainable economic growth and boost the well-being of our Hudson community fit completely with the possibilities that this project presents.”

The John L. Edwards (JLE) school building has been vacant since 2018, when elementary students were moved to the Montgomery Smith expanded campus. Using the property’s feasibility study – commissioned in 2019 by Mayor Kamal Johnson and City Council President Tom DePietro – as a blueprint, HDC envisions the building and grounds as a connective community center.

“Repurposing this vacant school not only preserves a community asset with historical and cultural significance to Hudson residents, it provides ample space for the youth center, city offices, educational programs, job training, social services, daycare and a meeting place for local organizations.” Jones said.

“Having the School Board’s favorable decision, HDC will now begin a six-month evaluation of the building’s existing operating systems and necessary upgrades to reach current safety standards. We are excited to begin conversations with community leaders and potential tenant partners about their specific goals and space requirements.”

HDC treasurer Phil Forman adds, “This due diligence period will allow HDC to prioritize critical investments the organization will undertake to bring a great building back to serving Hudson in the shortest amount of time.”

About HDC

The Hudson Development Corporation is a private non-profit established in 1976 as a Local Development Corporation for the purposes of sustaining, promoting, and enabling business investment and employment opportunities, as well as strengthening the City of Hudson’s tax base to help secure its future as a desirable place in wahich to live, work, and invest.

 

(Full disclosure: Seth Rogovoy is a board member of the Hudson Development Corporation.)