Conditional go-ahead given by town council
After nearly a year of public debate, Gilbane Development Co. has gotten a conditional go-ahead from the Narragansett Town Council to redevelop apartments and commercial space in the Narragansett Pier, considered a prime location in South County.
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With the approval, Gilbane moves forward to develop more detailed plans for the 88-unit Pier Village apartment complex and former supermarket on the site.
According to Gilbane spokesman Wes Cotter, the company plans to renovate the 30-year-old apartment complex and add a new building of 16 units, bringing the total number to 104. The units, which would be sold as condominiums, will be “modernized,” Cotter said.
Amenities such as improved heating and air conditioning will be added to the site, and the buildings will receive a makeover, Cotter said.
“These apartments were built in the 1970s, and it’s time that they were updated, modernized and improved,” he said. “At the time, they were built to be somewhat modest and they have remained that way. … And at the same time, expanding, beautifying that is going to create a really nice improvement right there on the town beach for the town of Narragansett.”
Cotter said the company hopes to start work on the residential portion of the project this summer.
On the commercial side, Gilbane plans to bring Belmont Market to the supermarket building, he said. “It will bring a nice, full-service grocer back to the site, which people have been asking for,” Cotter said. A new addition is also slated be built, to house a liquor store.
Cotter said that there are plans to build a “high-end” restaurant on the site of a former gas station that was recently demolished. And Cotter said if Gilbane is able to retire existing leases in the portion of the property that it controls – which does not include a movie theater or Narragansett police station – existing structures could be torn down and rebuilt to accommodate both commercial and residential uses.
The council’s approval came after a year of often contentious debate. Narragansett Town Council President Anne-Marie Silveria, who could not be reached for comment last week, told PBN in February that the Gilbane proposal before the council at the time was “not what we’re looking for.” Silveria said she wanted commercial uses to be included in the apartment buildings, creating a “downtown” feel.
Residents also criticized the plan for its aesthetics and the company’s opposition to reconstructing Narragansett Avenue to run through the property as a public road.
But ultimately, the council voted in favor of the project, granting unanimous approval for the commercial portion of the project and handing Gilbane a narrow victory on the residential component.
Conditions attached to the approval require Gilbane to develop a long-term plan for redevelopment that accounts for expired leases and that the company appear before the council again in the future to discuss the possibility of a pedestrian bridge.
Town Solicitor Mark McSally did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment last week.
While the town formalizes the conditions, Cotter said Gilbane will continue developing more advanced plans for the property. Cotter said he is unsure of how much the project is expected to cost.
