BY ANDREA PALMER
William Nikas aims to renovate the Masonic
Temple in Hudson Falls with the help of Kendall
McKernon and a stout following of supporters
and investors.
Nikas, an attorney who has practiced law for 25
years in the region, is also an interior designer and
photographer. He also owns McKernon Designs.
He purchased the building on his own, seeking
community support for its renovation.
“It was a roll of the dice,” he said. “At the
very least, I wanted to keep the building out of
unfriendly hands. I wanted to keep it preserved.”
Nikas estimated it will take $2.5 million to
renovate the building. Sixty percent of that
amount can be financed, leaving a $1 million
capital gap that would need to be raised.
Nikas proposed the development of the Sandy
Hill Coalition, a for-profit entity comprised of
1,000 shares purchased by area supporters for
$1,000 a share. A trust is currently being formed
for the capital, which will be be held with NBT
Bank.
Money is not being collected yet.
“We haven’t wanted to take money until we
had a better feel for what it was going to cost to
renovate this property,” said Nikas. “We’ve gotten
some criticism for that, but it’s just practical.”
Money will be placed in the trust with the
agreement that it will remain there until at least
October 2016. At that time, investors will have 30
days to make the decision to pull their money out,
or keep it in the trust to maintain their interest
in the property.
“There will be no guarantee of return on investment,”
said Nikas. “By October next year, we’ll
know if there’s enough money available to move
forward. At that time, you can take your money
back, no questions asked, or you can say, ‘I’m all
in.’ That’s how this is going to work.”
“Many have said they want to do something
with this for their grandkids, buying a unit in each
grandchild’s name,” he noted.
“This is a very different investment model. It is
a for-profit LLC. People will get their money back
through tax credits. The money raised is spent on
the building rehab,” he explained. “Because the
building is located in a historic district, investors
will be entitled to a 20 percent state and 20
percent federal tax credit. Forty percent of $2.5
million of income tax credit flows down to those
investors who put up $1 million. Theoretically,
they will get 100 percent of their investment back
in tax credit.”
The investment model concept comes from
Rick Hauser’s Main Street LLC model, which has
been successfully implemented in other regions
of New York, Nikas said.
“If the place generates a positive cash flow”
through tenants and community use, “that’s
great–investors will get a dividend on that profit.
They will be share-holders,” he said.
The investment opportunity is for anyone interested
in the revitalization of downtown Hudson
Falls, and is not limited to Hudson Falls residents.
The plan for renovation would involve a combination
of commercial and residential space. Office
space is already on several floors. A gymnasium is
housed in the building, as well as a large ballroom
on the fifth floor that Nikas hopes to preserve for
community use. The space would hold over 200
people and was previously used for Christmas
parties and events.
Said McKernon, “I love the downtown Hudson
Falls area. I always thought we had this architectural
texture around {Juckett Park} that is
amazing. We’re perched right over the river. We’re
in the middle of all this amazing history. There’s
so much going for the downtown area.”
“There’s a lot of support in the community. A
lot of people are ready to jump on board, with
very little prodding,” he added. “People have fond
memories of the community. They are ready to
align themselves with people moving forward.
There’s momentum behind this movement and
it’s just terrific.”
Nikas said McKernon has been a driving force
and inspiration behind the project.
“We started talking about revitalizing the
downtown area, and like any other town, we
have an abandoned house problem here,” said
Nikas. “This goes for downtown as well. We have
buildings in the downtown that are vacant and
not doing well. The first thing you want to do is to
deal with buildings that are empty. The Masonic
Temple is part of a much larger downtown revitalization
vision.”
Nikas started communicating with the previous
owners in the fall of 2014. The building was
purchased in a short sale and closed in early
June of 2015. The building currently has a small
number of tenants, including the rock/country
Midnight Revival Band and professional tattoo
parlor Ink Sanity.
McKernon says he’s in the project for the long
haul. “Fine things take time to put back together.
I’m all about patience and attention to detail. It is
not going to happen immediately, but everything
good is worth the wait. It’s a long-term process.”
The Sandy Hill Vision has a Facebook page.
Photo/Todd Bissonette Photography