POSITION: Chairman of the Foundry Corporation
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BACKGROUND: Developed Newport’s Brick Marketplace in the 1960s. Also designed and developed the Bellevue Shopping Center in Newport and has restored several buildings in downtown Providence, including the Greater Providence Trust Building.
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s of architecture, Northeastern University
RESIDENCE: Lincoln
AGE: 77
Antonio Guerra could have given up – could have sold out. But instead, he has persevered – holding tight to a dream that something very special would someday happen on property he purchased so many years ago.
Now, the 77-year-old architect and developer stands poised to unveil the latest chapter in Providence’s renaissance. It is a completely remodeled Foundry Corporate Office Center and The Promenade at the Foundry, a 220-unit upscale apartment complex.
On 26 acres of land in the northwest corner of the capital city – behind Providence Place and below Smith Hill, off Promenade Street – the development will have 3,000 people living and working there when it is complete by next spring. Eleven of the 12 buildings now on the property have been completely rehabilitated or are in the process of being transformed. The last building, nearest Route 95, remains in flux. Anthony Thomas, a principal of Foundry Associates, said its fate will be determined later.
According to Thomas, office space at the site is full and the demand for the apartments has been astounding.
The Promenade will also feature an indoor swimming pool and hot tub with adjoining fitness center, as well as an event room and business center.
PBN: You closed on this property back in 1968. What is it about this property – this project – that has allowed you to persevere for so long?
GUERRA: I was in the development business, but not large development. But this was a large development by itself. So I ran other things, but I concentrated on this one. If you think about it, you have 26 acres in downtown Providence. Providence is divided by 95 going north and south and 195 going east and west. So we’ve got control of practically the whole northwest corner. So I always knew that it had a fantastic future.
PBN: What is your vision for the property today – and how has that vision changed over the years?
GUERRA: Different years bring different trends. When I looked at it, I saw it mostly as an office park. Then I started to envision retail. I’ve owned it for 36 years. And there has really been continuous construction for 36 years.
PBN: What shape is it taking now?
GUERRA: Well, we have over 600,000 square feet of office space. And now we’re adding 220 apartments over 300,000 square feet of space. And then we have building four, where we are contemplating condos. And that will fill out the project.
PBN: Are you confident you will be able to fill the property?
GUERRA: We’re getting telephone calls for office space and we don’t have any more space.
PBN: What are some of the factors that you see as a developer that tell you a particular project is going to work?
GUERRA: You do a feasibility study. And you need numbers.
PBN: Why did you originally buy the property?
GUERRA: I was doing a big remodeling job in Springfield, Mass., with a big developer in Boston. I did such a good job … in three months I moved one big department store into another department store. I designed and rebuilt the whole thing in three months. And so the developer asked me if there was anything of that size in Rhode Island. And I said yes, and showed him this property. He worked out the numbers and said it was feasible. We ended up buying it, three partners. And then I bought the partners out and owned it alone.
PBN: There are controversies these days with historic properties and some developers wanting to take them down to make room for new developments. Are you someone who sees more of a value in the older properties?
GUERRA: Being an architect, I have always been able to envision things. … When I owned a building downtown I belonged to a businessmen’s association and we did everything we could to save as many buildings as we could. We worked together on cleaning the streets and security. …
PBN: They’re doing that again, now. I guess it’s not a new idea.
GUERRA: That’s right. We’ve done all that.
PBN: Is it important for you to see this project completed?
GUERRA: Yes. I have nine children. I envision this project having grown – and my children taking over the ownership.
PBN: You always hear that real estate is a good investment. Do you stand by that theory?
GUERRA: From day one. The only stock I ever bought, maybe 40 years ago … I bought some stock for my children. But I don’t believe in the stock market. I believe in putting it into property.
PBN: Why?
GUERRA: Because it’s limited. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
PBN: Would you as a developer and property owner, like to see competitors – other businesses – come in next door to you, along Promenade Street?
GUERRA: Definitely. Different developers will do different pieces … as long as one way or the other, they tie in, rather than everyone doing the same thing. I would love to have owned all of the property on both sides of the river from here to Olneyville. I’d want to develop it. But that’s impossible.
