Michael DeMasi is reporting for Albany Business Review the Hudson Development Corp.'s sale of the former Kaz Inc. warehouse located in Hudson's 1st Ward was finally closed on March 4. The former manufacturing site sold for $3 million to South Front Street Holdings LLC, according to Branda Maholtz, HDC executive director. The transaction included three parcels, totaling 4.5 acres, and are located at 72 South Front St., 14 Montgomery St. and 17 Montgomery St. The land is one of the last remaining developable parcels in the city, Maholtz said. Officials have tried for years to get the site redeveloped after Kaz, the maker of humidifiers, air purifiers and other products, closed the manufacturing facility in 2008, putting more than 300 people out of work. Median home prices in Columbia County have recently increased sharply, rising nearly 55 percent from 2017 to 2021, to $379,000, according to Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. Columbia County has recorded the fourth-fastest growth rate among the nine counties of the lower Hudson Valley. The details for what will become of the former Kaz site are unknown. A $487,160 grant awarded from the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative will help defray the costs of tearing down an old warehouse to create a mixed-use development. Ben Fain, who owns real estate and describes himself online as an artist and entrepreneur, signed the deed on behalf of South Front Street Holdings LLC. He declined to comment on his plans for the property. Maholtz described Fain as an ambitious person who's willing to listen to others. F. Michael Tucker, the president and CEO of Columbia Economic Development Corp., worked with HDC to sell the property. He said, "We are excited about the transformational opportunity for redevelopment of Hudson's historic waterfront." Read the full story in the Albany Business Review.