HUDSON, Ohio — The sun is setting and the time is ticking on the historical site of the former Hudson High School.
It has a rich history in Hudson. It was built in 1927. After the construction of the current high school in the 90s it turned into the middle school, but this past school year it has sat vacant.
The Hudson City School Board of Education decided Tuesday that the building would be demolished, with demolition completed by August.
“We had some interest expressed in retaining the old building and repurposing it but, in the end, we had no viable proposals that came forward with respect of being able to retain the four walls of the old building,” said David Zuro, the president of the board.
Zuro said it would cost $12 million to maintain the integrity of the building.
“There just didn’t seem to be the appetite, either from public funding sources or private funding sources, to make that happen,” he said.
The school board voted to keep the property in the district, though.
“We did have an economically viable option on the table for private development that would’ve brought us property taxes that could’ve been available to us, that we really are forgoing by this particular direction we are taking.”
But he said the direction they are taking is one that will benefit the students of Hudson City Schools.
It is a proposal by the John and Alison Quagliata Family Foundation. The nonprofit group is donating $710,000 to the district to keep it in district possession.
“A generous offer, really, to preserve the property that the school sits on for school district use for 99 years in the future, and that we could use the money from their donation for any purpose that the school district deemed appropriate for the students,” Zuro said. “So long as we keep the foundation aware of what we plan to do that.”
Zuro said the Hudson Heritage Association will also take some of the architectural and historical artifacts from the school and memorialize them, to honor the building’s memory.
As for what will become of the former school after demolition? Zuro said time will tell.
“Still to be determined. It could become a green space, a learning center for students, a practice field. We still need to determine what the best use of that would be,” he said.
