St. Paul's Forums Set For Wednesday

By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese

The first Open House information forums concerning AvalonBay Communities' plan for the historic Main Building at St. Paul's will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 10 from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. in Cluett Hall at St. Paul's.

The next set of forums will be held on September 16th, at the same times and location.

"The Open House format is designed to foster a dialogue with residents on various aspects of AvalonBay's St. Paul's proposal," said Bert Cunningham, a proposal spokesman.

At the forums, individual information stations will be set up on specific aspects of AvalonBay's St. Paul's plan, e.g., site plan and design (including height and density) for the proposed new construction; cost to save St. Paul's and the financial benefits to the Village; historic preservation requirements; traffic and school impact projections; parking requirements and configuration; and other potential development issues such as density, an analysis of projected school-age children who may reside at St. Paul's, and municipal services such as water use and police and fire response projections.

"I think it's important to note that the site plan that will be on display for use of the 7-acre parcel and the design concepts for the new construction have already received a preliminary review by the Village's Planning Commission and Architectural Design Review Board," said Cunningham. "In fact, there were two meetings and much discussion with each entity to arrive at the preferred site plan and design concepts. This preliminary review step was added to the process by Trustee Thomas Lamberti as part of the Mayor's Committee on St. Paul's review that culminated in the committee's report."

In one-on-one conversations with Village residents, AvalonBay personnel and consultants plan to discuss in detail the proposed plan to restore and preserve the Main Building.

"This kind of a format allows for the greatest amount of interaction with individual residents and to take as much time as the individual needs to have questions answered," said Cunningham.

All of the materials that will be on display are posted on AvalonBay's Web site on St. Paul's, www.avalonatstpauls.com/development.html