Former school now eyed as community center

With a landslide referendum victory behind them, proponents of saving historic St. Paul's School in Garden City from the wrecking ball said Thursday they are moving ahead with a plan to turn it into a center for community activities.

Residents voted by a 3-1 margin on Wednesday against demolishing the 1883 behemoth, once one of the top prep schools in the nation and listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Preservationists said their overwhelming victory in the nonbinding referendum could help end an 18-year standoff over what to do with the landmark since its shuttering in 1993.

"This was a huge majority. The people have said we want you to do something" with the four-story former Episcopal boys boarding school other than bulldoze it, said Ed Keating, vice president of the Committee to Save St. Paul's, which led the anti-demolition effort.

The committee, along with the Garden City Historical Society, said its next move will be to meet with the village board of trustees to push for a plan to rehabilitate the gargoyle- and spire-topped building and open it to the community for events ranging from senior citizen activities to plays and recitals.

"I think it could be a spectacular facility in a building that you can't compare with anything," said Brian Pinnola, president of the Garden City Historical Society. "It would be a unique setting for a community facility."

Village Mayor Donald Brudie did not respond to calls Thursday for comment on the proposal.

The groups said their project would cost $8 million to $10 million, which would come from grants, donations and tax money. Peter Negri, president of the committee, said the groups believe they can raise at least $1 million in private donations and that the project would cost taxpayers an average of $100 a year.

The organizations envision refurbishing about 10,500 square feet of first-floor parlors and a second-floor chapel, and sealing off the rest of the 130,000-square-foot structure. The work would include a new roof, smoke alarm, sprinkler, heat and air-conditioning systems, and repairs on windows and other items. They hope to have the building open by Christmas 2012.

The groups did not express enthusiasm for a plan floated by the newly installed Brudie, who said Wednesday that a client of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's is interested in re-opening the building as a private school. Brudie said the client toured the building this month and later sent a letter expressing "serious interest" in the proposal.

"I don't think it will have much traction," said Keating, who along with others said their main interest is reopening the building for community use. They said the new village administration appears open to seriously considering the local groups' proposal.

"We think we have a new willingness to have a dialogue," Keating said. "Before, there was no dialogue."