Breakers’ welcome center moves forward

HERE IS THE PROPOSED MAIN entry of the new welcome center at The Breakers. The project is moving forward after the R.I. Supreme Court ruled that the Newport Zoning Board’s approval of the welcome center does not require further review. / COURTESY PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF NEWPORT COUNTY
HERE IS THE PROPOSED MAIN entry of the new welcome center at The Breakers. The project is moving forward after the R.I. Supreme Court ruled that the Newport Zoning Board’s approval of the welcome center does not require further review. / COURTESY PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF NEWPORT COUNTY

NEWPORT – The R.I. Supreme Court has ruled that the Newport Zoning Board’s approval of a welcome center at The Breakers mansion does not require further review, allowing construction on the center to begin.

The ruling was issued on Saturday, according to a written statement from The Preservation Society of Newport County.

The society owns the iconic Gilded Age mansion, which was built in the 1890s for the Vanderbilt family.

The Bellevue-Ochre Point Neighborhood Association had appealed the zoning board’s approval of the facility through a writ of certiorari, which allows the higher court to review cases not usually carrying a right of appeal.

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The R.I. Supreme Court’s ruling rendered the writ of certiorari “denied,” according to the Preservation Society.

The Bellevue-Ochre Point Neighborhood Association didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment.

William Landry, attorney for the Preservation Society, said Monday that this was the final case before the court relating to the welcome center’s construction.

Landry said the Preservation Society will now move forward “in earnest” with the project and apply for building permits within the next several weeks.

Construction of The Breakers welcome center will begin “in the next month or two,” Landry said.

The Preservation Society’s chairman Monty Burnham said in a statement that the ruling is “exceptionally good news for the more than 450,000 people who visit The Breakers each year from around the world.”

“Having modern hospitality for visitors to this National Historic Landmark is vital,” Burnham said.

Opponents of the welcome center have argued that it would destroy the historic nature of the grounds.

The R.I. Supreme Court on Jan. 9 upheld a decision giving the Preservation Society zoning approval to build the welcome center.

A design by Cambridge, Mass.-based architectural firm Epstein Joslin was selected by the Preservation Society’s board of trustees for its “sound historic preservation criteria” and ability to serve hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, according to the facility’s website.

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