PROVIDENCE – If things don’t work out for the Pawtucket Red Sox on the former Interstate 195 land, another option is just down the street. The owners of Victory Place, a site near Davol Square, on Tuesday said they could be Plan B.
The eight-acre parcel includes a 5.2 acre, already cleared site owned by JAG Investment Realty. The remainder includes the Coletta’s towing garage and Tops Electric. Both have agreed to participate in any land deal for the ballpark, according to Bill Fischer, a spokesman for JAG Investment Realty.
The property is one block in from the Providence River, and bounded by Eddy, Globe, Richmond, Point and Hospital streets.
It offers a view of the downtown, abundant nearby parking, easy access to the highway and would not require the movement of underground utilities, Fischer said.
On its own, JAG Investment Realty commissioned an architecture company, Perkins & Will, to create renderings of what the ballpark might look like on the Victory Place site.
“It’s a viable location,” Fischer said. Victory Place owners have had informal discussions with the ownership group, but no sit-down meetings. Fischer would not discuss how the PawSox owners regard the site. “They are certainly aware the property exists.”
In a meeting Monday with the Interstate 195 Redevelopment District Commission, PawSox president James J. Skeffington was asked if the team had considered other sites in Providence, rather than the identified property. The removal of underground utilities on the I-195 land, including a gas main and a wastewater tunnel, is expected to cost about $5 million, according to the PawSox.
Skeffington responded by explaining that although the team owners had looked at a number of sites in downtown Providence, they were focused on the I-195 location.
I am familiar with this site and while close to the preferred site it might as well be miles away so lacking in amenities within a reasonable walking distance that it offers..
This location wouldn’t be bad. It’s about as downtown as it gets.