TSA review set for ProJo building as newspaper signs 10-year lease

THE PARENT OF the Providence Journal has purchased the Austin American-Statesman for $47.5 million. / PBN FILE PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD
THE PARENT OF the Providence Journal has purchased the Austin American-Statesman for $47.5 million. / PBN FILE PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD

PROVIDENCE – A request for tax incentives for the redevelopment of the Providence Journal building is scheduled for a public hearing Thursday. The City Council’s Finance Committee, which meets at 6 p.m., is reviewing a request for a 12-year phase-in of property taxes on the planned improvements.
The sale of the building from A.H. Belo to Nordblom Co. and Cornish Associates was completed in June. The building at 75 Fountain St., as well as two adjoining parking lots, sold for a combined purchase price of $7 million, including $3.3 million for the building itself, according to City Hall records.
The requested tax stabilization agreement would allow the property owner, identified as Fountainview Owner LLC, to pay a base tax for three years. The initial tax would be based on the $3.3 million sale value of the Journal building. Taxes then would gradually increase over nine years to reflect the full taxable value of the completed redevelopment.
When Cornish Associates and Nordblom, a Burlington, Mass.-based development company, announced the purchase of the Journal building, they indicated the redevelopment would include a significant rehabilitation to allow multiple office tenants. Entire floors could be made available, as well as smaller portions of floors.
The Providence Journal has signed a 10-year lease and will remain in the building as a tenant, according to Arnold “Buff” Chace Jr., managing partner of Cornish Associates.
The newspaper staff will relocate to the second floor, which will be gutted and outfitted to the publisher’s specifications. The top two floors of the four-story building will be renovated for new tenants.
Once renovated, the Providence Journal building is expected to feature 160,000 square feet of office space, as well as more than 10,000 square feet of restaurant and or retail space at street level on Fountain and Sabin streets.
“The whole building will be modernized and made into contemporary space,” said Chace, whose company has renovated eight buildings in downtown Providence.
In the paperwork supporting the tax stabilization request, the development team states the redevelopment will enhance the tax base of the surrounding area and increase meal and beverage tax revenue through new restaurant tenants.
A plan for new construction for the property adjoining the building, now consisting of parking areas, will be presented as a second phase, potentially next year, Chace said.

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  1. The renovation of the Providence Journal building into new contemporary space with offices and restaurants is wonderful for downtown! The new sidewalks Around the journal look beautiful and make it safer and easier for pedestrians to walk the city. Let’s get going on that Fogerty building.