The Future Of Hudson, As Seen On Cross Street

23 Cross Street, no longer needed

As if the pall hanging over our area yesterday wasn't depressing enough, I came across something having nothing to do with smoke that really disturbed me.  The perfectly good (and attractive) house at 23 Cross Street was being demolished.

I asked a worker for the demolition crew if he knew what was wrong with the house and why it needed to be demolished.  He replied, "There's nothing wrong with the house.  I was told that the owners of Kitty's are making way for a wedding venue." 

I bet the view from the second floor 
was nice

There it was, the stark reality and future of Hudson:  Fewer housing options for locals, with more wedding and party events options for wealthy people. Tear down a perfectly good house that once housed people to create space for a 250-person event venue, primarily to be use by people from out of town.  

While I am not exactly sure what is going to take the place of the razed house formerly known as 23 Cross Street, it appears that it is going to be part of a large garden (see diagram in the picture of the sign for the Caboose).  If this is true, it makes the removal of the house all the more bewildering and obscene.  

Kitty's Cafe and the Caboose project are part of the 
same ownership.  As is the recently purchased Kaz site.

According to public tax records, Kitty's Cafe, 60 S. Front Street, at the corner of Front and Cross Streets and stretching back to 23 Cross Street, is owned by South Front Street Holdings LLC, located at 550 Biltmore Way, Ste 1110, in Coral Gables, Florida.  David Serviansky is listed as the contact person for the LLC.

550 Biltmore Way, Suite 1110, Coral Gables, FL,
the home of South Front Street Holdings LLC
and Montgomery Street Project LLC

South Front Street Holdings LLC/David Serviansky bought 23 Cross Street in October of 2019 for $260,000.  Less than 4 years later it was demolished to make way for an events space directly across the street from the Hudson Amtrak train station.  

The 60 Front Street project (aka, The Caboose) was approved by the Hudson Planning Board in 2020.  Ben Fain signed the Planning Board's Application for Site Plan Review, referring to himself as the "owner" of South Front Street Holdings LLC.  He also named the applicant as South Front Street Holdings LLC, with an address of 60 S. Front Street in Hudson and a phone number with an area code of 786, which covers Florida's Miami-Dade County and where Coral Gables can be found. (The application and other documents related to the project are still available online to view)

The Caboose 

Ben Fain recently bought the nearby Kaz site for a cool 3 mil, didn't he?  That site encompasses 3 properties: 72 South Front Street, as well as 14 & 17 Montgomery Place.  All 3 of those properties, purchased just over a year ago, are listed on the tax rolls as owned by the Montgomery Street Project LLC, with the same Coral Gables, Florida address as South Front Street Holdings LLC.  No personal names are included in the contact information.