Bard College Becomes Major Hudson Property Owner After $82 Million Donation

Property Transfer Shakes Hudson

Residents of Hudson, N.Y., were stunned last summer when the nonprofit Galvan Initiatives Foundation, the city’s largest private property owner, gave away most of its large portfolio of residential and commercial properties.

More than 80 properties — including storefronts, apartments, homes and public-use spaces — worth an estimated $82 million were donated to Bard College. The transfer instantly made the liberal arts school, whose main campus is about 20 miles away in Annandale-on-Hudson, a major real estate owner in the city of roughly 5,600 people.

Among the donated buildings is an 1818 structure in Hudson that had previously housed the public library.

Tenants Sought Answers

The donation triggered weeks of anxious calls from tenants in Galvan-owned properties who wanted to know what the change would mean for them. Some worried about whether they would have to move or whether their homes might be converted into student housing.

“We had to tell everybody the same thing: ‘We’re still gathering information. At this point we don’t know,’” said Kamal Johnson, who was Hudson’s mayor at the time.

Johnson later lost his re-election bid in November and faced criticism over his ties to the foundation.

Few Details on Bard’s Plans

Since the transfer, Bard College has tried to reassure Hudson residents that no major changes are coming. But the school has offered few specifics about what it plans to do with the properties.

That lack of detail has unsettled a city already grappling with rising housing prices and disputes over gentrification. For many residents, the donation raised not just questions about ownership, but about how one of Hudson’s largest collections of housing and commercial space will be managed in the future.