Aliya Schneider is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Hudson Development Corporation is again seeking developers for the still-vacant 4.56-acre Kaz and CSX parcel in the city's 1st Ward. Hudson Development Corporation Board President Robert Rasner said, “We have no business owning undeveloped properties. It should be sold and put to good use for its new owners and for the citizens of the city.” Rasner is of the opinion the corporation should divest itself of all real-estate holdings because HDC does not pay real estate taxes. The board is expecting to receive $2 million for the property, he said. Three prospective investors have visited the site, but there are no proposals for the board to consider yet. The Wick Hotel, 41 Cross St., leases a portion of the property for parking at present. Kaz CEO Richard Katzman donated the property on Montgomery Street in 2010 to the HDC in exchange for a tax credit equivalent to the parcel's appraised value, or $900,000. The idea behind the deal was to put the property into the hands of the agency that deals with job creation and finding developers, said former mayor, and current 5th Ward Supervisor Richard Scalera. “Here we are 10, almost 11 years later,” Scalera said. “Nothing has been done.” Kaz, the health care and home environment products manufacturer, announced the closing of its Columbia County site after 12 years in September 2008. The Hudson warehouses had been largely unused other than for storage at the time the businesses shuttered, Scalera said. Hudson Development Corporation Executive Director Branda Maholtz said, “To be frank, HDC right now is very cash poor.” In 2017, the board did not like options presented for the site, Maholtz said. The community got more involved in 2018, and development stalled. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.