JWU signs 10-year lease on Capitol Center condos

By Patrick Anderson
PBN Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE – Johnson & Wales University has signed a new 10-year lease for One Park Row West, the former Capitol Cove condominium complex on the banks of the Moshassuck River the school has used as a student dormitory since 2009.

Johnson & Wales signed the lease with 261 LLC, which took over Capitol Cove after developer Robert Roth was foreclosed on in May, according to Todd Turcotte, vice president of Capital Properties Inc., which owns the 5 acres of land the building sits on.

Roth signed a 95-year land lease with Capitol Properties in 2005 with the intent to put up two condominium buildings on the 5-acre parcel. Only one building was constructed, and after the collapse of the housing market weak demand prompted Roth to lease it to Johnson & Wales for student housing.

The Capitol Cove land includes three lots, two of which are vacant, and Turcotte said the bank assigned them to three separate limited liability corporations 261, 262 and 263 LLC. Turcotte said he didn’t have any more information about who was behind the corporations other than that they were based in Massachusetts.

Turcotte said he didn’t know whether the new leaseholders had any plans to build on the undeveloped parcels.

Attempts to reach Roth Friday were unsuccessful.

Johnson & Wales’ three-year lease with Roth was set to expire July 31. Terms of the school’s new lease were unavailable.

Johnson & Wales spokeswoman Miriam Weinstein Friday confirmed that the school had extended its lease at One Par Row West and said the 344 students expected to move in over the weekend for the fall semester should not be affected by the new deal.