KENT, Conn. — A local business has a distinguished itself once again.
Hudson Valley Preservation was featured on the cover of Fine Homebuilding Magazine’s February/March 2025 edition.
The company’s work has been featured in magazines in the past, but this is the second time HVP has graced the cover in its 34 years of business.
“It was great,” said HVP partner Dave Seegers. “We do a lot of interesting projects, and I’ve read FHB for years.”
HVP partner Mason Lord agreed. “It feels great. And it is validation that we’re doing good work.”
Hudson Valley Preservation specializes in historic preservation and residential construction. It respects modern technology and environmental efficiencies, incorporating both with its builds.
The article on the cover of FHB 329 showcases the renovation of a modern 18-foot-by-18-foot kitchen addition at a Connecticut farmhouse dating from the 1780s. In particular, it focuses on a floor framing strategy inside a crawlspace foundation.
HVP did other work on site, including installing a new roof on the main house and a barn.
Seegers and Lord knew the house would be a story in the magazine, but they were “surprised” when it hit the cover.
Seegers said it was a bonus that two members of the HVP team were part of the feature story. “They’re young guys in the trades,” he said of the excitement the team had about the publication.
Homeowner Johanna Bonewitz said she and her husband were referred to HVP through their electrician. The match was a gift.
“They’re not only what I view as experts in the find, but they’re also really kind, honest, caring people, which, when doing a big project, really matters,” the client said. “I want to work with people I like and trust.”
“They’re just a real find and we’re fortunate we connected with them and they took on the project,” she said.
Bonewitz described HVP’s work as “phenomenal” and praised how they “seamlessly blended [the addition] into the home.” They sourced wood for the kitchen to match the existing original wide-plank floorboards throughout the home and matched the stain. They were mindful of the space and made suggestions on where to place windows for the best view of their property’s features.
“They did such an amazing job. It feels like [the kitchen has] always been there,” she said.
Teamwork
Since it’s humble beginnings in 1991 with offices in Brewster and Redhook, N.Y., the focus of HVP has been marksmanship, quality and client satisfaction.
“It’s the client’s dream we’re trying to execute” so communication is key, Seegers said. He added that a client’s collection of pictures from magazines and drawings even help HVP to understand their wishes.
“We really like upfront to get as much understanding as we can of what people want,” Lord said.
HVP is company of carpenters for the most part that works with trade partners.
“Over the years we’ve developed good relationships [with our trade partners] and we can count on them and their work,” Lord said. “We know they’re good at what they do.”
HVP has been headquartered in Kent since February 2019, moving there from Sherman where it had been located since 1995.
“We like being in the Northwest Corner now,” Lord said.
Over the years, HVP has had a fair mix of work, ranging from restorations to mainstream renovations.
Today, the company incorporates some new construction through its work with Bensonwood in New Hampshire. Bensonwood fabricates panels off-site and assembles them on site.
“It’s high performance, insulated really well, and very tight,” Lord explained, noting the buildings are not modular homes, but rather constructed from wall and roof panels. The HVP team works with Bensonwood during the design and then handles site work and all other aspects of construction, including the foundation, septic and well.
“It’s a very good system for a remodeling company to be a building partner with Bensonwood,” he said.
“We’ve grown in a way where we’re diversified,” he added.
In 2023, Warren resident Guy Mozkowski hired HVP to construct an outbuilding garage with an above-office based on “glowing reports” from his architect who had worked with the company in the past.
“She said they will be reliable, it will be spectacular work quality, and they’ll be on time,” Mozkowski recalled. “And they’ll give you an estimate and it’s not going to be overrun.”
“The architect was exactly right,” the satisfied client said. “They were on time and on budget, and the quality is the best.”
“People always tell you they have construction nightmares,” he said. “Nothing could’ve been further from the truth” with HVP.
The company prides itself on the variety of projects it takes on, from contemporary projects to a sill replacement in an 18th-century post-and-beam barn still in use on a dairy farm.
“Doing the mix keeps it very interesting,” said Seegers, who went to school for geology but found his way into carpentry.
Building techniques, supplies, codes, and engineering have changed since he and Lord met while working in the trades at the Lyndhurst Mansion in New York.
“There are really smart people working on making things better,” Lord said. He cited tighter building codes and advances with insulation that are more environmentally friend and energy efficient as just two ways the industry has evolved.
Lord estimated 50 percent of the company’s business is restorations, renovations and additions, and 50 percent is new construction.
“I love building,” related Lord, who grew up in Baltimore.
Seegers described his role today as “part cheerleader, part coach.” He focuses on addressing the challenging part of a job. “It’s getting my team together, whether its HVAC, a roofer, or how to deal with details to get best outcome, for it to look good… . I want happy clients at the end of this.”
The future
After being in the industry for several decades, both Lord and Seegers said they appreciate seeing the younger crew of carpenters on the job today.
They also are planning for the future of the company, discussing the possibility of HVP becoming an employee-owned coop down the road.
“We like to mentor [the crew] and help them grow … and build a company that will be sustainable,” Lord said.
Seeger emphasized the crew has “our common value for clients, the environment and the build community,” a combination the business partners said they most value.
He described one of the crew members who came to HVP after college and has been constantly learning on the job. Today he handles project management of large jobs. “He’s not wearing a toolbelt seven days a week,” said Seegers, who added he enjoys watching the employee manage the “rush of activity.”
“We try to train the crew to embrace the thought of lifelong learning,” Seegers said.
The company also founded TradesUp, a non-profit dedicated to inspiring the next generation of tradespeople. TradesUp hosts SPARK, a one-day event held annually in Kent that brings together dozens of trades experts to teach the next generation about how to create, make, and problem solve with their hands.
TradesUp is one of the ways HVP immerses itself in the importance of education. The nonprofit it founded annually presents SPARK to introduce and teach youth about the trades and working with one’s hands.
Lord said. “It’s really cool to see kids that are school age have joy, a satisfaction and confidence when they use a tool. They’re not necessarily building anything, but they’re using a tool.”
For youth, the tools won’t be as “intimidating” in later years. They will instead be able to walk into a lumber yard and recognize tools and what may be needed for a job.
