Citizens loans $7.2M for rehab of Providence mill; site to be culinary and startup incubator

The Room & Works project planned for the Mechanic Fabric Co. mill complex in Providence will be aimed at young professionals, including recent college graduates, who want to live and work in shared space. Citizens Bank has provided a $7.2 million loan to finance the rehabilitation of the historic complex. / PBN PHOTO
The Room & Works project planned for the Mechanic Fabric Co. mill complex in Providence will be aimed at young professionals, including recent college graduates, who want to live and work in shared space. Citizens Bank has provided a $7.2 million loan to finance the rehabilitation of the historic complex. / PBN PHOTO

PROVIDENCE – Citizens Bank recently provided a $7.2 million construction loan to finance the rehabilitation of a historic mill complex in Providence, which is slated to become a culinary and startup incubator.
The mill, known as the Mechanic Fabric Co., at 55 Cromwell St., will receive “substantial rehabilitation,” according to a Citizens press release. The bank provided the construction-and-bridge-financing loan to Cromwell Ventures LLC, whose sponsors are the principals of Knight & Swan LLC, a New York-based privately held real estate development company.
Federico Manaigo, Cromwell Ventures principal, is turning the mill into a mixed-use space with 40 rental apartments and about 11,000 square feet of commercial space, including shared office space and a commercial kitchen for lease to local food entrepreneurs.
The project, dubbed Room & Works, is described as “a novel live-work concept tailored to young professionals and recent graduates,” according to the release.
“We enjoyed working with the Citizens Bank team on this project,” said Manaigo. “The Citizens team, in particular Mary Vales, senior vice president of community development lending, understood the vision for the project from the onset and moved quickly to help get this complex transaction, which included a state and federal tax credit investor, closed. We’re thrilled to be bringing an innovative live-work experience to Providence and look forward to being a part of the West End neighborhood’s revival.”
The Providence City Council in September approved a 15-year schedule of graduated tax payments for the property.

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