When one of Patrick Conley’s projects takes advantage of the state’s historic preservation tax credit program, he enjoys keeping the history alive through the work. But one of his latest developments, the Hope Mill in Scituate, aims to go a step further by tipping its hat to the building and the village that it calls home.
Developed by Hope Mill Village Associates LLC – a consortium of three people: Conley, lead developer Vincent R. Coccoli and John M. Robinson – the 208-unit Hope Mill project will include a museum dedicated to the history of the soon-to-be rehabilitated building. The facility was in use until last year, when a textile manufacturer sold it to Coccoli.
According to Conley, who is a Providence College history professor, author of 16 books on Rhode Island’s history and developer of Dock Conley on Allens Avenue in Providence, many of his projects aim at emphasizing their cultural significance.
However, with this project, the tax credits and the sentiments of the community made the museum an important component.
“It’s an enhancement to the project that we thought might make it much more appealing to the residents of Hope Village, who are very, very mindful of the historic significance of the mill,” Conley said.
The project boasts a rich history, he said. Hope Mill, just across the Pawtuxet River from Coventry, went into operation in 1766.
Several figures of historical significance in the state – such as John Brown and Stephen Hopkins – were involved in the initial operations of the facility, known at the time as Hope Furnace. One of their earlier customers was Nathanael Greene, a Coventry resident who would go on to become a Revolutionary War hero.
Conley said the museum will tell that story, and will pay tribute to the village.
Coccoli said the project also will include other historical nods: the use of hydroelectricity and the replacement of the complex’s bell tower. He said the entire first phase of the project, which will include 155 apartments in the historic mill building, will be run off refurbished turbines. It’s a concept that was integrated into Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse’s redevelopment of the Royal Mills in West Warwick, which used hydroelectric power for a common area.
Coccoli said his project will employ the same concept on a grander scale. Combined with solar power, the turbines will provide energy for cooking, hot water and heat for the development’s first 155 units.
The bell tower will be replaced in the first phase, Coccoli said, and more than likely will be made into a light tower.
The project, which is expected to be completed in two years, received zoning approval from the town in December. Construction is to begin in June.
After the first phase of apartments – slated to cost more than $20 million, and to be constructed in the 192,000-square-foot mill building – the developers will begin work on 52 waterfront condominiums. (The 208th unit will be the museum.) Conley said most of those second-phase units will be of “the duplex variety.”
Although the project attracted the developers in part because of its historic component, Coccoli said the developers also saw a lot of “pent-up demand” in Scituate. This is the biggest development in the town’s history, he said.
The town and the site are centrally located within the state, he added, and they boast both a strong community and an “exceptional” school system.
“The most important component to me is the Scituate location,” Coccoli said. “You’ve got mills all around the state … but this is Scituate. It’s a nice address – and an opportunity to develop in Scituate is very, very rare.”
