Seth Zeren is the new director of development for Armory Management Co., and oversees commercial leasing in several facilities and complexes managed by the West Side-based company. He answered several questions recently about the state of redevelopment in that section of Providence.
PBN: As development director, you will oversee commercial leasing. Give readers an overview of the holdings of Armory Management Co. in general?
ZEREN: Armory Management Co. is a full-service real estate company, providing property management, residential and commercial leasing, and development consulting services, in addition to investing in our own development work. We manage a number of properties developed by The Armory Revival Co., including Pearl Street Lofts, Rising Sun Mills, The Plant, and numerous other properties. More recently AMC has taken the lead in completing several projects on West Fountain Street on the West Side, including 425 West Fountain — a former chop shop that recently won a prize from the Providence Preservation Society for adaptive reuse and is now home to Long Live Beerworks, DownCity Design, Cleverhood, and more. Just a block away is West Fountain Lofts, which includes residential lofts and a Planet Fitness, with two new restaurants and professional offices under construction. AMC also manages leasing for the new creative loft project, Rooms and Works, at 55 Cromwell St., which includes 40 dramatic loft apartments, a popup speakeasy, stunning test kitchen and beautifully detailed co-working space. We are just taking on the management and leasing at the Telephone Building at 112 Union St. downtown, a Stone Carpenter & Willson-designed building with 12 apartments and 5,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.
PBN: What is now available?
ZEREN: At Rising Sun Mills, a just completed refinancing has paved the way for the subdivision of the former Dassault Systemes offices. Recently renovated, classic brick-and-beam mill space is available from a couple thousand square feet to 50,000 square feet, with 18,000-square-foot floor plates off a spectacular three-story atrium. The site features landscaped grounds and a bike path along the Woonasquatucket River, fitness center, conference facilities, and four cars per thousand parking. At 383 West Fountain St., a new phase under construction includes 25 private professional offices of varying sizes with a shared cafe, lounge and conference rooms – a sort of “co-working for grown-ups.” At Rooms and Works, there is a 2,500-square-foot former boiler house, ideal for a creative maker business or a microdistillery. We have seen very strong demand, particularly for smaller restaurant and retail spaces on the West Side.
PBN: What is the greatest challenge in commercial leasing, in general, in Providence?
ZEREN: There are three main challenges. First, there is a lot of demand for well-renovated, well-managed, smaller commercial spaces. We recently offered up a 1,000-square-foot retail space on Broadway, for example, and received dozens of inquiries in a couple-week window. I wish I had another five or six spaces like that! New construction hasn’t yet produced the supply of smaller retail and restaurant spaces demanded by Providence’s changing demographics. The second problem with leasing comes after finding a tenant. It is no secret that building and fire codes are very difficult and expensive to navigate, particularly in mixed-use buildings, which are our specialty. Everyone we talk to believes the fire code in Rhode Island, even more than elsewhere, has become overly restrictive. Inspectors don’t enjoy delivering bad news to property owners and tenants about the delay and added expense that the codes require, but sometimes simple renovations can trigger expensive renovations of even recently upgraded spaces. Finding ways to inject speed and common sense into the codes and permitting process would have a significant positive impact on growth among small businesses in Providence. The third challenge is the scarcity of larger office tenants in the market. But we expect that our portfolio will benefit from the high price of entry into the Jewelry District and the nicer downtown buildings and hope that Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and Mayor Jorge O. Elorza are successful in growing and attracting corporate firms.
PBN: In what ways does the Armory Management Co. try to distinguish itself? What sets your properties apart?
ZEREN: AMC is the West Side’s commercial expert. We don’t work for people who cut corners in planning, design or base-building work. We usually deliver spaces completely finished, which is especially helpful to small businesses without the budget to hire professionals to design and oversee construction projects. We live in Providence, on the West Side. We walk, bike and drive the streets daily. We are embedded in the residential and business community and frequent our shops and restaurants, participate in cultural events and volunteer with community organizations. We are invested in where we live and work, meaning that when others do well in the neighborhood, we do well, in a holistic sense. This passion for our buildings, our neighborhood, and our work comes through in our property management and development projects. We work for owners who understand that commercial tenants are essentially partners. Tenants know that we can be trusted, that we’ll go the extra mile for the them and for the community and that we’ll go above and beyond what’s required to make properties in our management portfolio stand out. You can see this care and creativity in the landscaped riverfront at Rising Sun Mills, the courtyards at Pearl Street Lofts and The Plant, and the murals at 425 West Fountain St. It’s the AMC difference.
PBN: You recently came here from a Somerville-based firm, working on the North Shore of Massachusetts. How does the Providence market compare?
ZEREN: I cut my teeth in development with Somerville-based RCG LLC. Living and working in Cambridge and Somerville, I was constantly reminded that 20 years ago, many of the hottest parts of both cities were considered a “no-go” zone for many in the Boston area. My answer to the constant question, “Where’s the next Somerville?” was to move to Providence. While at RCG, I managed the design and permitting of a large, new mixed-use downtown development including a hotel, 80-unit apartment building, parking garage, and 20,000 square feet of commercial space. The Salem, Mass., market is much smaller than Providence, of course, but benefits in a similar way from the strength of a historic walkable downtown and convenient access to Boston via commuter rail. As for the comparison … again, we moved to Providence. My largest project at RCG was managing the ongoing redevelopment of a half-million-square-foot mill complex in North Andover (the East Mill and the West Mill) into a mixed-use complex with 69 residential lofts and over 150 commercial tenants, including five restaurants, retail spaces, health and wellness, and 300,000 square feet of office space. Our strategy, which proved effective, was to break up large master-tenanted office complexes (previous tenants had included Converse and Schneider Electric) into a variety of types and sizes of commercial suites, creating a truly mixed-use commercial community, allowing us to [outperform] more suburban campuses with an in-town feel at Interstate-495 prices. I am excited to be part of the growth of Armory Management Co. and the next chapter in the rebirth of Providence’s West Side, now the place to be for millennial professionals moving to Providence for the urban lifestyle and great quality of life.
