A proposal called Bliss Gardens has emerged as an alternative to the city's approved Bliss Towers redevelopment. Residents have questioned the project's tax impact and whether new housing would serve city needs.
The Planning Board voted 6-1 to approve the site plan for the first phase of the Hudson Housing Authority's own redevelopment, according to The Daily Gazette. That first phase calls for building 166 affordable units in new buildings and townhouses, then relocating current Bliss Towers tenants into them, per the same outlet's earlier coverage of the project's environmental review. A second phase would eventually demolish the towers themselves.
That second phase is where the numbers get murky. One Daily Gazette account describes a four-story, 100-unit building rising where Bliss Towers now stands, while another report from the same outlet puts the figure at 110 units, bringing the total project to 276 affordable units. Bliss Gardens has been proposed as an alternative, while only the first phase of the authority's plan has been approved.
Project Cost Estimate
The two-phase redevelopment has been estimated at roughly $220 million.
Planning Board member Peter Spear questioned the scale of the redevelopment proposal.
Mountco is leading the redevelopment.
Phase Two Financing
A Phase II loan closing could occur in December 2029.
Hudson isn't the only Hudson Valley city watching a public housing demolition stall. In Troy, the Troy Housing Authority says its John P. Taylor Apartments Buildings 3 and 4 are vacant until funding is secured to demolish and rebuild them. The project is meant to eventually deliver more than 250 affordable family housing units and 35,400 square feet of community and commercial space.
Taxes, Eligibility and Who Gets the New Units
Residents have questioned the project's tax impact.
Residents have also questioned whether new affordable housing in Hudson would serve city needs.
Kaya Weidman, executive director of the youth group Kite's Nest, expressed support for the project. Fifth Ward Common Councilmember Claire Cousin spoke about affordability.
A Bliss Gardens proposal offers an alternative to the authority's plan. The Planning Board's approval covers only the first phase, leaving a later phase to address the towers themselves.
