[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="450" caption="Frederick's blog points out several blocks in Hudson that may be remade in the next few years."][/caption]Hudson-based architect and urban designer Matthew Frederick notes on his blog "Hudson Urbanism" that his city will radically change in a few years time if a number of projects currently planned or somewhere in the planning process get built: "a Hudson Senior Center [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Proposal for Hudson Senior Center, from The Gossips of Rivertown blog."][/caption](to be built as an addition to the Youth Center), a city police station, a city court, a consolidated headquarters for the Columbia County Department of Social Services (if the department stays in the city, as it should), a new parking garage (to serve social services and the general public), a new housing development to replace Bliss Tower, a new restaurant on the waterfront, and the restoration of Washington Hose." He notes, "five of these projects--the police station, courthouse, social services, parking garage, and Bliss II--will be built within a several-block area between Columbia and State Sts., from around First St. to just above Fourth." He advocates a coordinated approach to re-make the city instead of each project happening independently with a resulting hodge-podge look.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="A proposal is being discussed to move many of Hudson's county services into the vacant Wal-Mart store on Fairview Ave. in Greenport. Photo by Tom Roe."][/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Washington Hose, in this photo from The Gossips of Rivertown, is being restored and will be offices for the Hudson Development Corporation and the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce."][/caption]