At its October 22 meeting, Garden City's Board of Trustees heard that the Village had received two bids to repair the mansard roof on the St. Paul's main building. One came in at about $5.5 million and the other at about $12.4 million, against an earlier estimate of roughly $10 million. Those numbers say a lot about where the Village has landed on its most debated building. Since 1993, residents have voted on what St. Paul's should become many times over, and none of those votes settled it. The current plan skips that question and fixes the outside first.
That approach is called the Landmark Option. It's why you'll see fencing, cleanup and roofers on the property this winter, and still no decision about what goes on inside.
Two bids, one big hole on the east side
According to Garden City News, Superintendent of Building Giuseppe Giovanniello told trustees the Village had hoped for more than two bids. He called both "respectable bids" and said staff were checking references and qualifications. A meeting with one contractor was set for October 23. He said the Village would look at options tied to the lower $5.5 million bid while making sure that contractor could actually finish the job. Mayor Ed Finneran said talks with contractors could include negotiating scope and cost.
Both bids are built in pieces. Trustee Vinny Muldoon explained that each one includes alternatives that let the Village add or drop parts of the work. That flexibility matters because the whole program is capped at $10 million. The low bid fits under the cap with room for other work. The high bid alone is more than the cap.
Here's what Muldoon described as done or underway on the building itself:
- Repairs to the basement window panels
- Refurbished and replaced side and front entranceways
- Work on the small roof over the front entrance
- Relocated windows and removal of the old black panels that covered them
- General cleanup in several areas of the building
He said those smaller items are on target to finish by Thanksgiving, which falls on November 26 this year. After that, he said, "it will boil down to the weather." He expects roof work to start on the east side, where the largest hole is, and he counted five or six more holes and penetrations around the rest of the building.
Thirty-three years of votes that never agreed
To see why the Village is fixing the outside first, it helps to look at how often residents have been asked about St. Paul's and how differently they've answered. The Village's St. Paul's FAQ keeps the record.
| Year | Question put to residents | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Bond to buy the property | Approved, 2,582 yes to 347 no |
| 1997 | Lease the building for assisted living | 1,178 yes, 1,194 no |
| 1997 | Maintain the building for future use | 1,247 yes, 871 no |
| 2004 | Pick one preferred use | 40% private residential or assisted living, 25% demolition, 4% stabilization |
| 2008 | Demolish, mothball, or an Avalon Bay agreement | 45.4% demolition, 37.1% mothballing, 17.5% Avalon Bay, from 5,020 votes |
| 2011 | $3.75 million bond to demolish | Defeated, 3,290 no to 1,121 yes |
| 2023 | Preserve or demolish | 2,635 for partial or full preservation, 1,704 for demolition |
The 1993 purchase passed by a wide margin. In the 1997 vote on an assisted-living lease, the two sides were 16 votes apart. Demolition led a 2008 poll, but a demolition bond failed in 2011 by nearly three to one. In 2023, preservation won the nonbinding poll, and Village Counsel advised that the result couldn't bind the Board.
After 2023, the Village appointed an advisory committee, hired the firm BCI in March 2024, and mailed a building survey to every household in April 2025. That survey gave three choices. Mayor Finneran described them as adaptive reuse at roughly $65 to $75 million, partial replacement at roughly $75 to $90 million, and mothballing at roughly $30 to $35 million. He called the outcome inconclusive, and the Board didn't pursue any of the three.
The Landmark Option fixes the outside and leaves the use for later
The Landmark plan came after that survey. Finneran told Garden City News that the 2026 Board of Trustees candidates proposed it in late February or early March 2026. He described it as "a maintenance program to shore up the roof and to undertake a handful of other improvements on or around the St. Paul's building…a totally external improvement program." In a May 29 update on the Village site, he listed its goals: preserving the historic exterior "in kind," addressing roof and exterior structural needs, improving safety and security, and cleanup and landscaping. He also said specific costs, contracts and decisions would still come to the Board for votes.
Its cap is a fraction of the 2025 survey numbers. At $10 million, it costs no more than a third of the cheapest survey option. Trustee Michele Harrington compared it to another historic building the Village is upgrading, the Edgemere Firehouse, and said the St. Paul's program is "a little more expensive" than that work. That firehouse is Fire Station No. 2, at Stewart Avenue and Edgemere Road. Its rear addition has foundation walls poured and steel up, and officials reported it on schedule and within budget.
How the work gets paid for is where officials disagree. On March 6, 2025, the Board unanimously passed a resolution committing to "a mandatory referendum allowing residents to be heard before issuing any bond relating to a future St. Paul's Main Building Project." At the time, members noted that future boards wouldn't be legally bound by it. Garden City News reported on October 15 that a $10 million bond authorization was pulled from a September agenda before it was discussed, and that the Board did not appear to be planning a referendum for the Landmark project.
Finneran, Deputy Mayor Judy Courtney and Trustee Harrington told the paper the 2025 pledge was meant for the three costly survey options. Courtney said the Landmark Option is "a fundamentally different proposal." Former Mayor Mary Carter Flanagan, who wrote the resolution, told the same paper she understood it as a promise that any St. Paul's project would go to residents for a bond vote. Former Trustee Bruce Chester said the resolution meant millions of dollars could not be spent on St. Paul's without community support.
Fixing the exterior doesn't lock in any particular use for the inside. The property's parkland status limits the options. The Village FAQ says it bars housing, schools, businesses and commercial rental. Village Counsel considers sports and recreation facilities and community event or meeting space potentially permitted, subject to review.
The grounds are what you'll notice first
You'll see the grounds change before anyone decides what happens inside. Muldoon told trustees the plan removes portions of asphalt, adds fencing and creates landscaped areas inspired by the era of Cornelia Stewart, widow of Garden City founder A.T. Stewart. "It will basically feel like St. Paul's is sitting on a park area," he said, "and with the landscaping we will gain areas of new grass that are not available to the public now."
That new grass falls under the same rules as the rest of the St. Paul's Recreational Complex. Under the Village recreation rules, the complex is for Garden City residents and their guests, it closes between sunset and sunrise unless otherwise allowed, and dogs aren't permitted. The Village's May update also said synthetic turf had been installed at the St. Paul's sports complex, with safety testing and netting to follow before official play.
Inside Cluett Hall, November 14 and 15
The closest look at the St. Paul's story this month comes on Saturday, November 14. The St. Paul's Landmark Society describes itself as a New York State 501(c)(3) and says it formed this spring. It has announced a free exhibit called "Preserving Our Heritage: A St. Paul's Landmark Exhibit." The exhibit runs the weekend of November 14 and 15 at Cluett Hall in the St. Paul's Recreational Complex. According to the Garden City News announcement, it will show archival photographs, historic sporting memorabilia, vintage uniforms, architectural artifacts and interactive media about the building's architecture and preservation. No registration is needed, and exact hours are still to be announced. Society Chair John Reilly is the contact named in the announcement.
The Society says it doesn't want a managerial or conservancy role and supports the Village continuing to own and manage the building.
Here's what's set on the calendar between now and the end of November:
- November 14 and 15: the Landmark Society exhibit at Cluett Hall
- By Thanksgiving on November 26: Muldoon's target for finishing the smaller cleanup and repair items
- After a contractor is picked and depending on weather: roof work starting on the east side
St. Paul's is one of the landmarks people around here judge Garden City by, and I follow it the same way I follow every block I work in. If you want to talk about the village, what's changing around the Stewart Avenue side of town, or anything else on your mind about living here, I'm glad to sit down. Santillo Realty is always one call away. Let's Connect.
