STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Over two years after the Tunnel to Towers Foundation purchased the property that houses the St. Paul’s Wayside Shrine in Meiers Corners (commonly known as Alba House), the organization continues to renovate the four acres of hallowed ground.
The foundation confirmed to the Advance/SILive.com Wednesday that it is currently operating out of the Society of St. Paul compound.
An Advance/SILive.com reporter saw an active construction zone at the 2187 Victory Blvd. location, which is enshrouded in construction material.
A Tunnel to Towers Foundation truck is seen at the Society of St. Paul’s compound as active construction on one of the facilities continues on May 28, 2026. (Advance/SILive.com | Jillian Delaney)
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a non-profit that provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families and builds specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans, moved its headquarters to the site.
The Advance/SILive.com inquired as to when the foundation moved into the space, but did not hear back from Tunnel to Towers by the time of publication.
In a 2024 interview, Frank Siller, CEO and chairman of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, said that the organization would not jeopardize the religious work that the Society of St. Paul does, nor will they interfere with the grotto itself.
Construction is ongoing at the Society of St. Paul compound as the Tunnel to Towers Foundation makes renovations on May 28, 2026. (Advance/SILive.com | Jillian Delaney)
“We are proud that we were able to purchase this property and want the community to know that our intentions are to utilize it while maintaining the same look and feel,” Siller said in 2024. “We are not knocking anything down; we are not building townhouses. We are working closely with the Brotherhood, who will remain on site.”
The foundation will, however, renew all the structures that call the property home.
This image shows the open doors to the Alba House on May 28, 2026. (Advance/SILive.com | Jillian Delaney)
“We will enhance the buildings and update them,” he said. “And we will give the grotto the attention it needs and deserves. This is a peaceful and spiritual place. That’s exactly how it will remain.”
The 182,749-square-foot property was previously owned by the Society of St. Paul, a Christian organization that “makes use of magazines, books, cinema, radio, television, compact disc, DVDs, internet and all technological means of communication to announce Christ and speak of everything in a Christ-like manner.” The group has operated a religious bookstore on the property for decades and once ran a major publishing house there as well.
Back in 2022 when the property was first listed for sale, the shrine’s liaison, Brother Joshua Seidl, told the Advance/SILive.com the following: “We, the priests and brothers of the Society of St. Paul, hope to build a new monastery, chapel and a new bookstore and publishing office on our current property here on Victory Boulevard… A portion of our property is listed for sale, but not all of it. We are NOT leaving our Staten Island location. This change will permit us to advance in our vowed ministry to let the word of God be known using the most modern means of media communication.”
Signage states that a new St. Paul’s Community and Apostolate Building is “coming soon” on May 28, 2026. (Advance/SILive.com | Jillian Delaney)
An Advance/SILive.com reporter saw signage Thursday saying that a new building, meant to house the St. Paul’s Community and Apostolate Building — made up of the rectory, publishing, bookshop, church, and shrine — will be coming soon.
But it’s the grotto that has held strong significance for borough residents over the past 70 years. A locally sacred place for prayer and reflection, profoundly important in the dark days after Sept. 11, 2001.
“I feel as though this property was meant for Tunnel to Towers,” said Siller in 2024, referring to the origins of his foundation. “Our first mission is ‘Never Forget,’ and our motto is ‘Let us do good,’ which is a teaching of St. Francis. It’s a monumental task to bring this property to its full beauty, but that’s exactly what we intend to do.”
Three Tunnel to Towers Foundation trucks are seen in the Society of St. Paul compound on May 28, 2026. (Advance/SILive.com | Jillian Delaney)
The foundation is named in honor of Stephen Gerard Siller, a 34-year-old firefighter who gave his life on 9/11, heroically strapping on 60 pounds of bunker gear and running through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers before they collapsed. His family founded Tunnel to Towers in 2002, hosting a 5K to symbolize his final footsteps.
Since then, the foundation has raised over $1 billion in support of the nation’s heroes and built over 1,700 mortgage-free homes.