Bulfinch Companies Inc., master developer of the Warwick Station Redevelopment District, offered more than $10 million last week to buy 12 acres of land between T.F. Green Airport and the future Amtrak train station.
The land represents the initial phase of the redevelopment and is a key piece of the 70-acre district because it likely will be bisected by a future people mover, which is an elevated shuttle that will transfer passengers between the airport and train station. It also lies adjacent to an area that will house a new car-rental facility and commuter parking lot for the train station.
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The site, bordered by Post Road, the Amtrak rail line, Coronado Road and Montebello Road, is ideal for commercial development and likely will serve as the centerpiece of the redevelopment district, according to Scott I. Oran, managing director of Bulfinch.
“With the new Amtrak station and proximity to Route 95 and the T.F. Green Airport, we believe that the proposed development will provide an unparalleled location for the business sector,” Oran said. Potential uses for the 12-acre site include hotels, offices and a convention center.
The 12 acres is a collection of parcels owned by more than 20 property owners, Oran said. He expects to hear back from the landowners within two months. The offers are the first acquisition proposals Bulfinch has made in the station district.
Bulfinch, of Needham, Mass., eventually will try to buy the entire 70-acre parcel and develop it in stages over the next 10 years, Oran said. Development of portions of the 12-acre site should begin soon after Bulfinch takes ownership of the properties, he said.
Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian said work on the train station should begin this year and still is scheduled for completion by the end of 2002.
“This is really the first step in the development of the district,” Avedisian said of the Bulfinch offers. “I expect there will be counter offers, but we’re happy that the first offers have been made. I think it shows that the developer is moving forward with the overall project.”
