Residents Question North Castle’s Town Hall Plan

North Castle residents raised deep concerns last week over the cost of buying an acclaimed law firm’s building and converting it into a new municipal headquarters as well as potential redevelopment of the current Town Hall parcel.

Many of the more than 15 speakers at the Feb. 12 public hearing cautioned the Town Board about moving ahead with eminent domain proceedings to acquire the nearly 44,000-square-foot Boies Schiller Flexner building at 333 Main St. in Armonk to provide greater room and more modern space for town operations. 

Cramped quarters for the police department at 15 Bedford Rd. that are prone to flooding and sewage backups, an inadequate meeting room to host the local justice court and the Water and Sewer Department housed in temporary trailers for about 30 years are the most glaring deficiencies cited with the current facilities. The existing Town Hall opened in 1949.

Town officials received an appraisal of $7 million in November for the Boies building and its roughly two acres of land. However, that figure does not include how much the interior work to retrofit the structure for use as a municipal building would cost the town.

Supervisor Joseph Rende said the hearings will help the board to decide whether to pursue eminent domain for the property, not whether to acquire it. If the board decides to approve progressing with eminent domain, he pledged the town would then schedule a town-wide referendum.

“I’m committed to keep pushing forward and getting all the information out there before we make a final decision, but not jumping to conclusions or letting anything get in the way of making the right choice,” Rende said.

While none of the hearing’s speakers disputed the shortcomings of the existing facilities, there were repeated questions over total cost, how it would be paid and what might happen to the roughly 10 acres of municipal land should the town vacate the current facility. The Town Hall complex is across the street from the Bedford Road Historic District and nearby historic homes. In addition to Town Hall, the town-owned land also includes the Birdsall Cornell House, which is used as an annex that contains several town offices, the Highway Department and its equipment and a Little League field.

“The North Castle Historical Society is very concerned about the lack of clarity on what the plan is for the 15 Bedford Rd. property that would be left behind if Town Hall were to move,” said historical society member Tim Radice. “This property is of critical importance to the North Castle Historical Society and it has a large impact on the historic district that was set up to preserve the original town square that was set up by St. Stephen’s Church.”

Others surmised that the sale and redevelopment of the 15 Bedford Rd. parcel would likely have to happen for the move to make financial sense for the town. So far, neglecting what might become of the current Town Hall site has to be discussed simultaneously.

“I do also fear that the current town land would have to be sold and make back some of that money. I think that would ruin the character of Armonk, of downtown,” said Armonk resident Brendon Molloy. 

Molloy also suggested the town consider constructing a new Town Hall building at the 15 Bedford Rd. property.

Lack of clarity regarding final costs weighed on other residents’ minds. Neal Baumann, another Armonk resident, said the poor working environment for many of the town’s employees is problematic. However, the town needs to show what the final costs will be.

“What’s not been talked about tonight is the money, right,” Baumann told the board during the more than two-and-a-half-hour hearing. “Where is the money going to come from to purchase this property and to put a few million dollars, maybe a lot of millions of dollars to bring it up to be a Town Hall?”

A few other residents also urged the board to present an outline of a parallel plan to consider what would happen to the current Town Hall property if it is vacated. The Town Hall land is currently zoned quarter-acre residential.

“We need to ensure that our locally landmarked district is not destroyed and that the federal landmarked district across the street is not ruined by sitting across from dense housing or a supermarket or whatever development I’ve been hearing about from others,” said resident and former town justice Susan Shimer.

There were several speakers who applauded the board for exploring the purchase of the Boies building as the next Town Hall. Stefan Martinovic said that the current facilities are so “beyond inadequate and functionally obsolete” that the municipal employees who work there deserve better. 

If plans were to move forward with purchasing 333 Main St., redevelopment of the current Town Hall site and historic preservation can both be achieved, he said.

“I think we can have our cake and eat it, too,” Martinovic said. “Just because moving the town facility (nearby) does not mean 15 Bedford Rd. needs to go anywhere. It doesn’t mean it can’t be used as an office but it’s just inadequate for what the town’s needs are.”

Neal Schwartz, the longtime president of the Armonk Chamber of Commerce, said the town should be able to find a balance between maintaining the charm of the downtown while also moving forward.

“Change is not always looked at well, but it’s time for change,” Schwartz said. “The opportunity for that 333 building is something that comes around once and it may not come around again. I trust this board and I can trust this town that you’re going to do the right thing with the land where the current (Town Hall) is and the property that is there.”

Councilman Matt Milim said waiting until the town decides what to do with 15 Bedford Rd. would take multiple years while the opportunity for the Boies building is presenting itself now. He said the board will have all the information regarding renovation costs before a referendum and is seeking robust feedback from the community.

Furthermore, the costs of building a new Town Hall of comparable size to the Boies building based on square footage could approach $30 million.

“We made a decision to do this with a referendum, not because we had to but because we chose to, we wanted to,” Milim said. “It’s a big enough issue where we want everyone in town to have a say on this.”

But Councilwoman Barbara DiGiacinto said she was apprehensive about moving forward with buying 333 Main St. because there are so many unknowns.

“I don’t know, and no one does at this point, what it’s going to cost to buy that building, to retrofit that building to meet our needs,” she said. “I’m very concerned about 15 Bedford Rd. and what can happen to it.”

Potentially complicating matters is that the attorney BSF&F, LLC, the limited liability company that owns 333 Main St., sent a letter last Tuesday to the town stating that the $7 million valuation of the property by North Castle’s appraiser is “substantially below the property’s fair market value.”

The attorney for the town, Robert Spolzino, said if the town moves ahead with eminent domain, the property owner will conduct its own appraisal. Based on the two appraisals negotiations could lead to an agreement or the purchase price would be decided by a judge.

Spolzino said BSF&F asked for the town to pursue eminent domain because there would be significant tax advantages for the seller.

The hearing is set to resume at the Town Board’s next meeting on Feb. 26.