Hudson Select Board approves town's armory purchase. Here's what happens next

HUDSON — The Select Board has voted to authorize the town to purchase the former National Guard armory from the state, opening the door to convert the building into a performing arts center.

The board voted to purchase the property, which is just off the downtown at the corner of Washington and Park streets, using funds that had been earmarked from the state budget and put forward by state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton.

The purchase price is $230,000, according to a line item in the state Senate's fiscal 2023 budget proposal.

In addition to authorizing the funds, the Select Board also approved the signing of a three-year lease to the Hudson Cultural Alliance, which will work on renovating the property to turn it into a community arts center.

More: Hudson gets go-ahead from state Senate to purchase downtown armory building

“It was an interesting process," Select Board Chair Scott Duplisea said after the board's Aug. 22 vote. "To do this kind of deal, where the town is getting it and taking it and running with it, we obviously wanted to make sure that we got all of the i's dotted and the t's crossed. Credit to everybody that has been involved so far.”

Executive Assistant Thomas Gregory said that what Hudson has been able to accomplish is rare, and that many towns that attempt to purchase similar properties are not successful.

“In many other cases, when it comes to these armories, cities and towns fail to do what Hudson is doing,” he said. “And they just sit there as abandoned buildings.”

The brick, castle-like structure was built in 1910 and was previously used by the National Guard and as a firefighter training facility. More recently, the building was used as a storage facility for the Massachusetts State Police. But in 2018, the state notified the town that it no longer had any use for the building, and would be putting it up for sale.

The Hudson Cultural Alliance was formed in 2019, and began campaigning for the town to purchase the property and convert it into a performing arts space.

“This is a huge step for us. Not only did the town purchase the property, but we now have a three-year lease on the building,” said Tom Desmond, president of the alliance's board of directors. “We recently met with representatives from the state, and they handed the keys to the building over to us, and we now have full access to the building.”

In addition to the funding secured by state legislators, the Hudson Cultural Alliance has received a $200,000 grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to help renovate the building. The group must raise enough funds to match the grant.

“We currently have $175,000 of the $200,000 that we need to raise, and we have until next June to raise that last $25,000,” Desmond said.

Select Board member Shawn Sadowski congratulated alliance members for working hard to organize their volunteer effort to provide a future for the historic building.

“Great job, you really took this ball and went running with it," he said. "You showed passion behind this project. Congratulations."

Desmond said the next step is to get an architect and engineer into the building and to identify ways in which it can be improved and brought up to code — something that needs to happen before the armory can be reopened as a performing arts center.

“There needs to be improvements, we need to get the fire safety and handicapped accessibility up to code,” Desmond said. “After that, we can begin working on areas for tenants to set up in.”

The Hudson Cultural Alliance was supported in its efforts through various volunteers and local investors. Local business groups, including the Hudson Business Improvement District, have been instrumental not only with their financial support, but also their advocacy to see the armory repurposed as an arts center, according to Desmond.

The HBID is holding an event on Sept. 17 in downtown Hudson that will include events for children and families in the morning, and then a beer and wine garden during the evening in the parking lot of Avidia Bank's branch office on Washington Street (Route 85). A 50/50 raffle will be held, with half of the proceeds going to support the Hudson Cultural Alliance's fundraising efforts for the armory.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Hudson Select Board approves town's purchase of armory