NORTH KINGSTOWN – The Quonset Business Park is constructing a new industrial campus, with buildings of flexible office and warehouse space intended to provide more room to growing businesses.
The first of what could be five or six buildings is under construction, and expected to be completed this spring. It is located at 151 Ocean State Drive.
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The buildings would become the Flex Industrial Campus, providing up to 25,000 to 50,000 square feet per building, with office space, restrooms and high-bay clearances for manufacturing or warehouse space. Ceiling heights will be 24 feet.
Steven J. King, managing director of the Quonset Development Corp., said the first building is a $2.5 million project of 28,000 square feet that will accommodate three tenants, with the building divided into both office and flexible manufacturing or warehouse space.
The configuration includes three warehouse footprints of 7,995 square feet to 8,091 square feet.
Once tenants are secured, he said, construction would begin on the second building. Potentially six buildings covering 225,000 square feet of space could be developed.
Rhode Island for years has lacked sufficient modern warehouse and industrial space, due to the age of the existing building stock, according to commercial real estate brokers.
King said Quonset has entered into a lease arrangement with a private developer, Flex Technology Park LLC, which will build and own the buildings. Quonset will retain ownership of the land, and will manage and lease the facilities under a lease with Flex Technology.
Tenants are still being recruited, King said, but he said he felt confident there is a market for the space.
“There’s not a lot of product in the marketplace,” he said. Most industrial buildings in Rhode Island were constructed prior to 1950.
The building flex space is being leased by CB Richard Ellis New England. The buildings were designed by Vision 3 Architects.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@PBN.com.
