In the River House Project, former classrooms become state-of-the-art film studio facilities
The River House Project will serve as a guide and anchor to the creative economy taking root in the region.
Photos provided by the River House Project
Over the last decade, down by the river in Hudson, New York, Melissa Auf der Maur and Tony Stone have been building a creative community around the programming and events at Basilica Hudson, from music and art to craft and food.
The couple’s latest endeavor is The River House Project, which opened last month in a long-abandoned, now beautifully restored historic schoolhouse in downtown Hudson. They've created a venue for filmmakers and other creative professionals to work, share resources and collaborate in technically productive and artistically meaningful ways.
“Hudson is filled with artists and people can see it bubbling as we speak,” said Auf der Maur. “Hudson has a (huge) population of creative professionals but there’s no gathering place. People don’t want to be in silos working alone from home anymore.”
In what were once classrooms, The River House Project has conceived sun-drenched production offices with sweeping views of the river, Mount Merino and the Basilica down by the tracks. Along with space and high-speed, business-grade internet, the RHP also makes film productions eligible to acquire a 40% state tax credit.
The restoration of the massive building was made possible by a number of grants. One of the biggest draws for film productions specifically to RHP is the not-yet-completed, top-of-the-line post-production facility, with sound and color editing, to be housed in the basement. That setup, which Auf der Maur says will be the only one of its caliber north of NYC, will soon be funded as part of a large NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant received by the city of Hudson last year. RHP tenant crews and visiting productions will be able to rent time with the equipment as needed. Auf der Maur sees the editing bay as a critical step towards the firm establishment of the Hudson Valley as a movie-making region.
The building also has space for physical art exhibitions. The inaugural installation is UPSTREAM, a two-floor showcase that intertwines art, objects and furniture. Curated collectively by SEPTEMBER Gallery, LIKEMINDEDOBJECTS and Lithe Sebesta Décor and Design, UPSTREAM is intended to reflect the vibrant community in and around Hudson as a spirited creative locus, where social and artistic instigators find and make space to experiment with new forms.
The addition of the gallery space adds tremendously to the inviting nature and interdisciplinary intentions of the space. The River House Project is still very much a work in progress and Auf der Maur said that while there is no timeline yet, there are goals to create a more informal shared workspace for individual creatives in an open-concept space.
The effort to restore the building to its former glory was immense and noteworthy in a city that values its historic architecture but was seemingly stumped to find a way to save the old school before now. Stone and Auf der Maur oversaw a revitalization of the building that maintained the character of the structure while adding necessary modern conveniences and a contemporary style that feels unified. They also performed vital stabilization work on the building, raising the entire structure in a successful effort to fend off an eventual collapse.
“We came to Hudson a decade ago to explore and collaborate with a town undergoing a beautiful evolution,” she said. “Hudson has changed in so many ways over the years. The creative economy has taken hold in a region that was not booming. It’s revived the community. It’s a return to a smaller scale way of living together with these regenerative projects that bring energy and life and the creative spirit to the community.”
Studio office space in the River House Project is currently being leased through Nicole Vidor Real Estate.
