PROVIDENCE – A Wisconsin-based developer plans to purchase the sprawling Paragon Mill in the city’s Olneyville neighborhood and redevelop the site into 101 apartments, as well as commercial and community space.
The former textile mill, spread over 11 buildings, dates to the late 1800s and has been the focus of redevelopment efforts for more than a decade.
It is owned by the Providence Redevelopment Agency, an arm of the city, which acquired it in 2018 from ONE Neighborhood Builders, in lieu of a loan repayment.
The redevelopment agency last year issued a request for proposals to redevelop the site, and The Alexander Co., of Madison, Wis., was selected. The developer plans to purchase the building from the city with a closing anticipated in April, according to the R.I. Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp., which last week authorized the use of up to $1.1 million in low-income housing tax credits to facilitate the development.
The financing for the $35 million redevelopment also is expected to include Rhode Island state historic tax credits, federal historic tax credits and a first mortgage loan from Citibank. The project site is in a state-designated opportunity zone, which is what attracted the developer to the project, according to R.I. Housing development officials.
The mill complex, which was last operated by a textile company in the 1960s, will be redeveloped into 101 rental apartments, which will be leased at prices in a range of affordability, according to R.I. Housing. Forty-four of the units would be leased to households at or under 60% of the area median income. The remainder will be leased at market rates.
“We’re excited about this project,” said Eric Shorter, director of development for R.I. Housing, at the meeting last week.
The Alexander Co. has extensive experience in redevelopment of historic properties and apartment creation, although not in Rhode Island. It has chosen TRAC Builders Inc. of Providence as the general contractor for the project and DBVW Architects Inc. as the architect.
If the project closes in April, construction is expected to begin this year and would be completed in August 2022.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at MacDonald@PBN.com.
