Much that is old becomes new

REBUILDING A CITY: By the beginning of 2016, construction on the multifaceted, $220 million South Street Landing project was underway, with the foundation being dug for a new parking garage, foreground, while the interior work on the old power station had begun. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
REBUILDING A CITY: By the beginning of 2016, construction on the multifaceted, $220 million South Street Landing project was underway, with the foundation being dug for a new parking garage, foreground, while the interior work on the old power station had begun. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

Editor’s note: In celebration of Providence Business News’ 30th anniversary, staff writers and contributors examined the stories and trends that defined the region’s business scene for the period.
The movement of an interstate highway to create a new development corridor through Providence, the conversion of long-vacant office and industrial buildings to modern apartments and new investment in retail centers are a few of the trends that have characterized Rhode Island real estate over the past several years, although not all development fits the new urbanist ideal.

For instance, the long-awaited movement of Interstate 195 has cleared up land that can be developed, creating what many regard as the state’s best chance to bolster the economy.

The historic canopy of buildings in downtown Providence, meanwhile, has captured the attention of modern developers. And thus the slow evolution of downtown Providence into a vibrant, after-work-hours destination, a neighborhood for new residents, was fully evident by the beginning of 2016.

Perhaps no project represents that transformation as much as the former Brown and Sharpe mill complex’s redevelopment as the Promenade apartment complex and Foundry commercial buildings. The project started in 1968, when Foundry Associates, led by Antonio Guerra, purchased the property. In the summer of 2015, the final phase of the work began filling up with residential tenants, as 196 rental units joined the existing 237 units. The rebirth of the Industrial Age mill has meant in some cases complete rebuilding of the floor system in addition to adding all the modern amenities.

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In the Financial District, the landmark Union Trust Co. building at 170 Westminster St., built in 1901 and 1902, and sold in 2015 to Providence Capital LLC, will be converted to as many as 10 floors of rental apartments. At ground level, The Dorrance restaurant will be unaffected.

After years of inactivity, the city is preparing once more for new hotel construction. First Bristol Corp. of Fall River has received final approval for construction of an eight-story, all-suites hotel on the triangular lot in the Capital Center District.

The 1960s-era Fogarty Building on Fountain Street, meanwhile, will be razed and replaced with a new extended-stay hotel. Cranston-based Procaccianti Group plans a 168-room hotel, to be run as a Residence Inn by Marriott. The $40 million project recently received city tax incentives.

And in retail real estate, established malls have had facelifts and rebranding designed to reposition them for modern consumers. The largest enclosed mall in Rhode Island, the Providence Place mall, has aged well since its completion in 1999. It retains near full occupancy.

Other major retail centers, including the Rhode Island Mall and Warwick Mall in Warwick, and Garden City Center in Cranston, are evolving as well, each undergoing either substantial renovations or expansions since originally opening. The interior of the Rhode Island Mall, now owned by Baltimore-based MCB Real Estate LLC, will be renovated and converted to a series of mid-sized box stores.

The emergence of commercial and residential development on the former I-195 land is the most important real estate story of the past decade. The corridor of nearly 19 developable acres is widely regarded as the state’s best opportunity to attract industries that will create high-paying jobs, and dense development that will help fill out the gap-toothed canopy of buildings in downtown Providence.

The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission initially oversaw construction of infrastructure to define the developable parcels, and had overseen the marketing of the land. So far, the commission has purchase and sale agreements for three of the parcels.

On two contiguous parcels, Parcels 22 and 25, CV Properties LLC and Wexford Science & Technology have proposed an initial phase of a three-part $250 million project, including a mixed-use and bioscience center. The companies and the I-195 commission in late January signed a purchase and sale agreement, and the project remains in its 90-day due diligence period.

On Parcel 8 on the east side of the Providence River, Royal Oaks Realty LLC plans to construct a seven-story building that will include apartments, offices and retail space. The new construction will adjoin a historic building, which will be renovated. The project is expected to be the first construction on the I-195 lands overseen by the commission.

An original part of the highway footprint, at Friendship and Chestnut streets, was sold to Johnson & Wales University before the I-195 commission was created. The $40 million, 71,000-square-foot project will become the university’s new School of Engineering and Design building and is scheduled to open in 2016.

One of the biggest projects currently underway that is not in the former I-195 land but is just adjacent to it is the conversion of an old power station to South Street Landing, a $220 million development that will house a new shared nursing-education center for the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College, as well as administrative offices for Brown University, plus retail, residential space and a new parking garage.

Most recently, Citizens Financial Group Inc. announced plans to build a 420,000-square-foot campus in Johnston that will allow the Providence-based bank to consolidate its Rhode Island operations. The greenfield development has engendered some pushback, however, as many question why it must be built so far out of the urban core on undeveloped land. •

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