India Point project is the first out of I-195 box

RENDERING COURTESY CHURCHILL & BANKS
STAGE SETTER? The developers of The Esplanade at India Point say that if permitting and planning go as expected, construction could begin next summer.
RENDERING COURTESY CHURCHILL & BANKS STAGE SETTER? The developers of The Esplanade at India Point say that if permitting and planning go as expected, construction could begin next summer.

Developer Churchill & Banks wants to be a pioneer of Providence’s Interstate 195 land frontier.
The downtown developer hopes to build apartments, stores and offices on the former highway properties south of Wickenden Street on the city’s East Side.
But with the redevelopment process for those state-controlled parcels still some way off, Churchill & Banks is moving ahead with a mixed-use project on land it already owns next door, a development it hopes will influence the tone and direction of construction in the neighborhood going forward.
This fall the company unveiled plans for The Esplanade at India Point, a six-story, 29,000-square-foot expansion of the former Fuller Iron Works Building at 39 Pike St., now home to the Vanity lounge and headquarters of technology firm Swipely.
“I think this is not only a precedent setter, but we are pioneering the I-195 development,” said Richard Baccari II, vice president of development at Churchill & Banks. “It is tough to get a project of this magnitude off the ground, especially in Providence and Rhode Island. It is always best if we are marketing to the rest of the country that they see a crane in the air. It gives them security that someone else has the guts to go for this.”
When built, the Esplanade would serve as both an example for other builders looking at Providence and a template for the larger development Baccari hopes to build next door.
Churchill & Banks is one of at least three developers to have made pitches to the Interstate 195 Redevelopment District Commission, which owns and is charged with finding builders for the 40 acres of former highway land cutting through the city.
The I-195 Commission plans to start marketing parcels this winter, with construction of the East Side segment possible in 2015.
But Baccari said he decided not to wait for that process to unfold before beginning to build on the land he already owns.
On top of the general I-195 selection process, two-thirds of the 36,000-square-foot I-195 property next to 39 Pike St. is now caught in a legal dispute between the state and heirs of a past owner who claim right of first refusal to purchase it. As the larger project would need to be done in phases anyway, Baccari said starting the Esplanade while waiting for the I-195 issues to be sorted out made sense.
Plans for the Esplanade include construction of a six-story addition that would wrap around the existing 14,000-square-foot, turn-of-the-century Fuller Iron Works Building on land cleared by the demolition of a warehouse 18 months ago.
The addition would boost the commercial space to 40,000 square feet and include 52 apartments, mostly one and two-bedrooms plus two penthouse units.
There would also be a two-level parking garage with up to 170 spaces and a roof garden.
The Pike Street property shares zoning rules with downtown and the Jewelry District, which allow construction of up to eight stories, so Baccari said he does not expect to need any permitting relief.
Long-term, Baccari’s vision for a larger development using the I-195 land would be similar in style and format to the Esplanade, which it would connect to, just much more of it.
The larger complex would features about 200 apartments, 28,000 square feet of offices and 25,000 square feet of retail space. He said the project would include construction of an 800-space parking garage.
Churchill & Banks has been talking to two supermarket chains about leasing a Wickenden Street retail space in the larger project, Baccari said, but it is too early to lock anything down. The development will not rely on a supermarket or a large anchor tenant to be successful, he said.
“We could go with either one larger or multiple smaller tenants on the retail,” Baccari said. “We don’t need to have an anchor. The residential component is the anchor.”
Rents for Esplanade apartments will be on the upper end of the market, similar to other new luxury units on the East Side, in the $2 per square foot range or $2,500 and up for a two bedroom, Baccari said. As for who will fill the Esplanade offices, unfortunately it will not include the growing Swipely, which has outgrown its current space and is moving downtown starting at the end of the year. The initial idea had been for the technology company to move into the new office space in the Esplanade, Baccari said, but the company just couldn’t wait that long.
Baccari said he may explore a tax stabilization deal with the city for the property, but hasn’t approached anyone about it yet.
If permitting and planning goes as expected, construction could begin next summer.
Churchill & Banks has hired Kite Architects of Providence to design the Esplanade.
Kite Principal Christine Malecki West said a major challenge of the Esplanade project was accessing the outstanding views of the city and the harbor for as many spaces in the building as possible.
“In the other directions the views of the skyline, power plant, bridge and College Hill are amazing, but getting the direction of the waterfront wasn’t as easy,” West said.
West said the building design is still in the preliminary stages, but while referencing the architecture of the Fuller building and neighborhood, the Esplanade addition will feature a contemporary look.
By using a variety of building materials and design features, West said she hopes to give the complex the look of two or three separate buildings instead of one large mass.
The fact that a contemporary building would be accepted in the I-195 area where it might not in many neighborhoods made the project particularly attractive from an architects’ perspective, as was the chance to set a precedent for what may be built in the future.
“Being first out of the gate is a very interesting aspect and we wanted to do a good job of respecting the planning work and setting the stage for responsible urban development,” West said. •

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1 COMMENT

  1. Looking forward to some integrated, transitional architecture in this city and excited about the potential for a supermarket (MUCH needed in that area). However, I’m disappointed about the price per unit, though I suppose its expected in this particular area.

    Again, we need affordable housing in Providence and in Rhode Island. Until we have jobs with a living wage and incomes to support such rents and basic urban amenities (i.e. grocery stores) we shouldn’t expect to pay prices equivalent to those in far better build-out cities. If $2,000 per month is the cost of rent now, what will it be when and if we reach critical mass and with a definitive system of urbanized living?