Armory renovations are canceled; study planned

LANDMARK DECISION? Providence Preservation Society Executive Director  Brent Runyon and West Broadway Neighborhood Association Executive Director  Kari Lang in front of the Cranston Street Armory. The state recently scrapped plans for $3 million in renovations for the facility. / PBN PHOTO/JAIME LOWE
LANDMARK DECISION? Providence Preservation Society Executive Director Brent Runyon and West Broadway Neighborhood Association Executive Director Kari Lang in front of the Cranston Street Armory. The state recently scrapped plans for $3 million in renovations for the facility. / PBN PHOTO/JAIME LOWE

The yellow brick ramparts of Providence’s Cranston Street Armory won’t protect the landmark from Rhode Island’s annual state budget crunch.
This spring, the 107-year-old building known as the “people’s castle” had been slated for up to $3 million in badly needed renovations before the work was abruptly canceled by Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee’s administration.
State officials said they need to find a long-term use before sinking more money into the West Side icon and decided to commission a study of the best solution instead of making interim repairs.
“I saw a report that says we are close to $10 million in repairs just to secure the building, and even then it doesn’t meet any codes, there are no elevators in the towers and not enough parking,” said Director of Administration Richard Licht. “It is a magnificent hall, but what do you use it for? Before we start spending lots of money, we should know what we are doing with it.”
The state is holding a walk-through for firms looking to complete the Armory study on May 29 and expects to award a contract for the work over the summer. The study is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.
But preservationists and neighborhood activists who have been working to protect the Armory for years argue that putting off needed repairs to the structure is not the best way to find a long-term user.
“Many studies have been done over the years but never implemented,” said West Broadway Neighborhood Association Executive Director Kari Lang, who was on an Armory reuse committee in 1997. “No matter who the user, they will need windows and the repairs that were identified and slated to be made. How many windows could be installed for the cost of yet another study?”
Sen. Paul Jabour, D-Providence, wants to find out if putting off the Armory façade repairs will ultimately result in larger repair bills. “I want to find out if that $3 million should be spent to cut off further damage or destruction to the property,” Jabour said. “I say spend the $3 million to show you have an earnest interest in keeping the building there and to make sure no one is using a study as a stall tactic or thinking about demolition. That is not something I will stand by and watch.”
Commanding the neighborhood surrounding the Dexter Training Ground, the Armory has appeared on the Providence Preservation Society’s Most Endangered Properties List five times.
Designed by William R. Walker & Son in a medieval-revival style, the 186,800-square-foot building features “multiple turrets, crenellated copper parapets, and elaborately detailed granite and terra cotta ornamentation,” according to the reuse study request for proposals.
The complex’s layout – two separate six-story office towers flanking an 80-foot high drill hall – is especially challenging for modern users and functions like three separate buildings.
The Armory costs the state about $200,000 each year to maintain and operate, including phone, heat, water, security, landscaping, fire suppression, snow removal, trash collection and a janitor, said Operations Management Executive Director Ron Renaud in March.
The state has also spent an average of around $1 million annually on deferred maintenance projects at the building.
When he took office, Chafee suggested consolidating leased office space for state functions within buildings it already owns, including the Armory, but soon backed away from that idea after learning more about the property.
State officials have shied away from providing a cost estimate for renovating the Armory to modern standards for fear of scaring away potential users.
The state fire marshal is now the only full-time tenant and Jabour said he has been told the marshal wants to leave the building. Six contractors responded with bids on the $3 million repair project, which would have included work on the façade, repairing damaged masonry and replacing broken windows.
The bids ranged from $2.3 million to $3 million, but none were selected before the state decided to abandon the work and commission a study.
“We would prefer that if money has already been allocated to necessary repairs, the work should proceed as quickly as possible,” said Providence Preservation Society Executive Director Brent Runyon in an email about the Armory. “The $3 million that was pulled is a large dent in the $10 million worth of work that is needed.”
“That said, we are glad that the [R.I. Department of Administration] is taking a holistic approach to the building,” Runyon added.
Licht said the $3 million for façade repairs was not a victim of the looming fiscal 2015 budget crunch now estimated at about $67 million.
Money for the façade repairs was to come from the R.I. Capital Plan Fund, a dedicated infrastructure account that receives 3 percent of annual state revenue, not discretionary spending in the annual budget.
On whether delaying interim repairs will result in more damage and costlier fixes in the long run, Licht said that would always be a threat until a permanent solution can be found.
“It depends on how long the interim is,” Licht said. “But I am hoping a report can be done relatively fast and a recommendation can be made.”
Licht said while the study is underway, the state would put up fencing to keep people away from any dangerous areas.
Would the state ever consider tearing the 1907 fortress down?
“I haven’t been discussing that but the feasibility study looks at all options,” Licht said. “I haven’t heard that option mentioned yet.” •

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