One R.I. company, three Mass. firms express interest in Providence Intermodal Transit Center project

PROVIDENCE – Four development companies have submitted qualifications for construction of the new Providence Intermodal Transit Center, a transit hub designed to merge bus and train service, automobile parking and new construction near Providence Station.
This is the first step of what will be a two-step process in awarding a contract for the work, according to a spokesman for the R.I. Department of Transportation.
The four companies include Providence-based Marsella Development Corp., which developed Capital Center, as well as the Newport Gateway. Three Massachusetts-based entities also submitted qualifications.
They include: Boston Development Collaborative LLC, Redgate Capital Partners and Boston Properties Limited Partnership, a publicly traded real estate development company that is one of the nation’s largest owners of Class-A office buildings.
Boston Properties Limited Partnership reported $18.6 billion in assets as of June 30, according to its U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
RIDOT will arrange for an evaluation team to review each development company based on criteria including their experience with transit facilities, transit-oriented development and public-private partnerships, according to Charles St. Martin, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation.
The proposed transit hub would conceivably move bus service in Providence, now located around Kennedy Plaza, to a site near the existing train station at Providence Station. This would reunite bus and train services in Providence, now separated by a quarter-mile, and spur additional development, according to a news release.
Rhode Island voters in 2014 authorized $35 million in bond proceeds for development of transit hubs in the state. It was not immediately clear Tuesday how much remains for the Providence transit hub proposal.
The intention is to use public funds to attract private investment in proposals.
In the second step of the selection process, development teams that are qualified, through the state’s evaluation process, to compete, will submit their proposals. The state expects to issue a Request For Proposals at the end of the year.
RIDOT plans to award a contract for the Providence transit hub in late summer, with construction to start in fall 2018.

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