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City, county looking at feasibility of sharing space in Hudson

Aug 17, 2018 8:00 am
Amanda Purcell is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Hudson Common Council will next week vote on a resolution calling for the city and Columbia County to study the possible acquisition and use of the former John L. Edwards Primary School on State Street for city and county offices. The building closed its doors to students after the end of the 2017-18 school year. The resolution was introduced by 3rd Ward Alderman Shershah Mizan at the council's August 13 meeting. “As you all know, the John L. Edwards School is up for sale, and this is a request that the county and the city work together if we want to be partners in the development, and, if so, how do we do it,” Common Council President Thomas DePietro said. No money is set aside to fund the study at this time. The goal of the resolution is to express an interest in entering an agreement with the county, DePietro said. The proposed study would assess any cost to remediate or renovate the building, he said. The total assessed value of the John L. Edwards Primary School is $5.3 million, according to county property records, and it measures more than 74,000 square feet. Stuyvesant Town Supervisor Ron Knott, who heads the Board of Supervisor's Space Utilization Committee, said discussions with the city began over a year ago. “We would like to give the school an answer, one way or another,” Knott said. “But we have to consider what the cost of this project is versus maintaining and upgrading the buildings we have.” The Common Council formal meeting will be held 7 p.m. Tue., Aug. 21 at City Hall, 520 Warren Street. Ed. note: DePietro is an active WGXC volunteer programmer. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.