St. Paul's Developer Candidate Introduced
By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese

The Committee to Save St. Paul's introduced development partner Paul Rabinovitch of Canus Corporation to the public at a community meeting held on Wednesday evening at the Garden City Casino.

Canus Corporation specializes in historic preservation, adaptive reuse of older structures and development in downtown areas. They usually work on projects that contain 50 to 200 units. Rabinovitch has 10 years of experience working on Long Island as executive director of the Long Island chapter of The Nature Conservancy, a conservation and restoration nonprofit agency.

A group of approximately 100 Garden City residents listened as Rabinovitch presented their proposal for the redevelopment of the Historic St. Paul's Main Building. The CSSP has referred to the plan as the "people's proposal," since it was crafted by Garden City residents. Maureen Traxler, the group's administrative and communications director, read several comments received from residents supporting the proposal.

The plan calls for renovating the existing building to be used as a community meeting and gathering space, senior center and apartments. They estimate the total gross cost of the project to be more than $45 million, meaning the "average home," which is a home assessed at $13,200, will have to pay an additional $100 in Village taxes per year for 20 years.

After 20 years, Canus Corporation will turn the project back to the Village after it meets its financial goals. Until that time, the proposal calls for a ground lease with the Village of Garden City. Canus Corporation will restore, construct and operate the facility without ever taking title to the property. The Village will retain the deed.

The Committee's mixed-use proposal calls for the establishment of a "partnership" consisting of the private sector (developer), the nonprofit community (St. Paul's Conservancy Corp.) and the Village. The Committee would operate as an essential member/partner, allowing the entity to take advantage of federal and New York State rehabilitation tax credits. In May 2006, members of the Committee legally incorporated a qualified Section 501(c)(3) organization known as St. Paul's Conservancy Corporation.

The proposal contains 14,530 square feet for public use in prime areas of the building on the first floor and ground level, including the former chapel. This space, set aside for a community center, senior center and gathering and meeting rooms, is combined with approximately 67 units of residential senior apartments.

The CSSP plans to market the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments to Garden City seniors 55 years old and over. However, the apartments would be available to the public at large and cannot legally be restricted for Garden City residents. At a previous meeting in October, the CSSP said there would be a variety of different types of apartments, ranging in size from 500 to 1,600 square feet and including garden apartments and duplexes.

The rents collected would be one of the major income streams that would help pay for the project. Other sources include income from the rent the Village would pay for public spaces, the St. Paul's Conservancy Corp.'s ability to procure grants and income from the developer's sale of tax credits.

Rabinovitch said they expect 23 percent of their budget to be covered from grants and the sale of tax credits. He added that if changes in federal and New York State law concerning tax credits are approved by legislators, that percentage could increase. He is currently predicting the partnership will get $8.7 million in equity from tax credit sale. Canus has identified over $9 million in grants that can be applied for, but have conservatively budgeted $2.5 million from grant sources.

Two financial firms have provided Canus with letters of commitment: the Consortium Historic Equity Fund, which is a wholly-owned entity of Morgan Stanley with the capacity to use over $200 million in tax credits; and Raymond James, a public financial company that will act as Canus' investment bank and place taxable bonds to provide the corporation with construction and permanent debt financing.

If selected by the Village Board of Trustees, Rabinovitch said the project would take three years to complete. He could not say what the rents for the apartments will be, but said they expect the rate, in 2010 dollars, will be $2.80 per square foot. Currently rental apartments in the Village average $2.40 per square foot.

The CSSP's proposal is one of three finalists being reviewed by the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's. Besides CSSP/Canus Corp., the remaining contenders are the Albanese Organization and Avalon Bay Communities. The Village's consultant, Karen Backus, principal of the real estate consulting firm K. Backus & Associates, Inc., has submitted a list of questions to the finalists which must be answered by May 22.

If the proposal is ultimately chosen by the Board of Trustees, the next step would be to obtain the necessary Home Rule legislation and relief from Parkland designation from state legislators. Negri called upon the public to voice their support for their plan to Mayor Peter Bee, members of the Board of Trustees and Senator Kemp Hannon.

The CSSP has met privately with Senator Hannon, who has emphasized that he will only go forward in Albany to secure the necessary Home Rule legislation and relief from Parkland designation if he sees widespread public support for one proposal. Without the legislation, the land can strictly be used for public purposes only.

For more information on the CSSP and proposal, visit www.savestpauls.org.