The City of Poughkeepsie is hoping a $200,000 grant can help restore a historic landmark to its former glory.
The city purchased the Hoffman House for $765,000 from Central Hudson last year and has considered locating city offices there.
If awarded, the grant from the Depaartment of State would go toward repairs to the basement walls and roof. “(Hoffman House) is not in imminent danger of collapse; it just needs some stabilizing work,” said acting development director Linda MacIssac.
The building has been empty for more than 10 years, and it was constructed in the 18th century. According to the national registry of historic places, it is both architecturally significant – built in the federal Greek revival style, it exhibits Flemish bond brickwork (alternating the short and long sides of brick) – and significant for its history during early settlement of Poughkeepsie. It is situated at 83 North Water St. along the banks of Fallkill Creek and near the site of Poughkeepsie’s first mills.
The grant application is due Dec. 7., and MacIssac said the state has not told her when funds could become available. While the city will be competing with other communities for the highly selective Environmental Protection Fund grant, the city has received this type of funding before – in 2005 the state awarded $100,000 for redevelopment of Main Street and the waterfront.
In addition to locating the city’s parks and recreation department in the building, other possibilities for the space include a maritime museum or leasing to a nonprofit, MacIsaac said.
The Reynolds House, another historic property on the same land parcel, could be used to store equipment for the parks and recreation department.
During budget discussions last year, the city had considered selling the parcel in efforts to offset a tax increase. But that proposal met with outcry from residents who were concerned the city would lose a piece of history. At a December 2006 Common Council meeting, resident Holly Wahlberg spoke of both the 200-year-old Hoffman House and Reynolds House as “rare treasures” that have survived development.
“In a city that lost 400 acres of historic buildings and neighborhoods to the wrecking ball of 1960s urban renewal, somehow these two buildings miraculously managed to survive,” she said. “Nobody wants to live in or even visit a community that has sold off its history building by building, parcel by parcel.”
Public protest over the proposal led council members to reconsider and ultimately maintain possession of the parcel.