Excellence Award Spotlight: River House Project
The River House Project in Hudson is one of this year’s Excellence in Historic Preservation Award winners. This post is part of an in depth series exploring all of the 2020 Award winners.
Archival postcard image of the Allen Street School in Hudson, NY. The building served as the area’s elementary school until the 1960s and remained vacant for most of the next several decades.
River House Project’s 1903 red-brick school building is a contributing property in the Hudson Historic District, but was left vacant and neglected for decades. Looking at it now, you’d never guess it had been in such a deteriorated and dangerous condition when owners Melissa Auf der Maur and Tony Stone first decided to tackle the project.
The building’s front facade before restoration. The main entrance was infilled and the front grade lowered, preventing access from the portico.
A look at the front of the building’s facade after restoration. The site was regraded and the portico and entrance restored to allow access from Allen Street. Photo by James Autery
The pair already had experience bringing a historic building back to life – albeit a very different kind of building – through their work establishing Basilica Hudson, a multidisciplinary art space deeply rooted in community sustainability. Basilica is located in a former industrial factory on the Hudson River, just a short walk from River House. With both their home and work being in walking distance, the Allen Street building had a particular appeal.
A view from the building’s roof, with the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains in the distance. The newly installed skylights allow an abundance of natural light to fill the finished attic, creating another attractive work space.
With sweeping Hudson River and Catskill Mountain views, and an abundance of natural light on every floor, the old schoolhouse was attractive despite its challenges. This building was an ideal space for the couple to build a state-of-the-art and energy efficient coworking space for creatives, specifically focused on film, media, and innovation.
Top: Four views of the interior before restoration. After the school closed, it was used briefly as a textile assembly site, which left the building in a dangerous condition. Staircases were removed and so were load-bearing walls to create manufacturing space, causing the structure to sink and exterior walls to deflect. Lack of maintenance and heat resulted in drainage failures that damaged exterior masonry, tin ceilings, plaster walls, and wood floors. Subsequent abandonment compounded the deterioration.
Bottom: Corresponding interior photos after restoration (credit: James Autery). Wood floors, tin ceilings, and built-ins were restored. New stairs were constructed of modern materials to differentiate from the historic features. Both the basement and attic were finished during restoration to increase usable office and work space.
In selecting River House Project as an Award winner, one of the things that really struck the jury was the attention paid to every detail – especially as it relates to sustainability and green building practices. Over 100 original double-hung wood windows were painstakingly restored, keeping that building material out of the landfill. Custom storms were fabricated and weather stripping installed to ensure as tight a seal as possible to reduce heating and cooling needs. The building is fossil fuel-free, having had the gas line disconnected and boiler removed. The new external heat pump system is extremely efficient – the pump supplying hot water and dehumidification uses about half as much electricity as a toaster. This is especially impressive considering the size of the building – 19,000 square feet!
The building is fully equipped with modern wiring and technology to accommodate sound and image editing suites and post-production facilities. The four floors each have studio and office spaces. River House Project is a NY State Qualified Post-Production Facility. Productions will benefit from NY State Film Tax-Credits (fully refundable credit of 40% of qualified production costs and post-production costs incurred in New York State). From the RHP’s website: “River House Project provides innovative workspaces for professionals – filmmakers, fabricators, designers, inventors, producers, researchers, writers and architects – seeking offices, studios and creative suites. These facilities allow for an expanded level of creative, professional and experimental activity in Hudson. While serving the growing creative economic resurgence underway in the broader region, River House also provides local residents a way to access and establish themselves within this sector.“
The passion that the project team brought to this restoration is evident. The building has been brought back to life, elevating the resources available to creatives in the Hudson Valley. The people who work out of River House have the same passion for their work that Melissa and Tony do – ultimately allowing a collaborative community to thrive within a once abandoned building.
The River House project team included: Melissa Auf der Maur, Co-Founder, Basilica Hudson / River House Project | Owner/Developer; Tony Stone, Co-Founder, Basilica Hudson / River House Project | Owner/Developer, General Contractor; Jason Wyckoff, JASONAUT Inc. | Project Manager; Yves deFontenay, Pelletier / deFontenay | Design; Hubert Pelletier, Pelletier / deFontenay | Design; Joe Iuviene (deceased), Architectural Bureau | Design; Patricia Altman, PACA Preservation, LLC | Historic Preservation Consultation; Michael J. Kenneally, Shamrock Engineering | Engineering; Edward Russell | Foundation; Daniel Rundell, Dan Rundell LLC | Masonry; Daniel Joyce | Slate Roofing; Christopher Wetmore | Window Restoration; Dell’s Plumbing and Heating | HVAC; Gregg Leggett, Leggett Electric | Electric work; Kris Perry, Fantastic Fabrications | Metal work