Discussions have been rekindled about how to reoccupy the “Superman” building, the iconic Providence skyscraper that’s been empty and dark for seven years. But those involved in the talks emphasize that they remain preliminary.
Rhode Island Foundation CEO and President Neil D. Steinberg and state officials have discussed options to save the 92-year-old Industrial Trust Co. Building, which has visibly deteriorated since Bank of America Corp. moved out in 2013. The building’s outdated layout has made finding new office tenants difficult, leaving its future uncertain.
The Boston Globe recently reported that the discussions include a new financing tool that would involve an estate tax allowing taxpayers, in certain circumstances, to earmark their tax contribution for specific public projects. The proposal would require legislation.
Steinberg told PBN that the foundation would not be purchasing the building, but he declined to elaborate on the estate tax proposal or other options under discussion.
Meanwhile, R.I. Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor said the “Superman” building, Providence’s tallest at 428 feet, remains on his department’s radar. “We continue to dialogue with the property owner and continue to collaborate with stakeholders on potential options,” he said.
The building owner is Newton, Mass.-based High Rock Westminster Street. Principal David Sweetser referred questions to a spokesman, who couldn’t be reached.
High Rock purchased the Industrial Trust Co. Building for $33 million in 2008, but the value of the building has shriveled with no tenants and ongoing depreciation. In 2019, the city assessed it at $15.5 million.
Gov. Gina M. Raimondo acknowledged earlier this month that there have been renewed discussions, but added that nothing concrete has developed yet. She said the state has pitched the building to private employers for several years without success.
“Are we involved? Yes,” she said. “Are we working hard? Yes. Do I have anything to tell you, a certainty? No.”
The University of Rhode Island has emerged as a potential tenant.
URI’s Providence campus is located in the Shepard Building, at 259 Westminster St. That building, owned by the state, is on a list of parcels that could be sold to raise money for the state and to achieve operating efficiencies.
A commission formed by the Raimondo administration to identify ways to generate income listed the six-story Shepard Building last May as an asset that could be sold. Raimondo did not include proceeds from a potential sale in her 2021 budget proposal, and the Shepard Building is not listed for sale, according to a state spokeswoman.
Raimondo said she could support the relocation of URI’s Providence campus to the “Superman” building, if the university wants it, and if additional commercial uses are part of the plan.
The building “is going to require a subsidy. So, my preference would be a subsidy that brings in some jobs, brings in commercial tenants,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to fill it up with a whole entire state department. And that’s why it’s taken so long. What I’m trying to get done is 500, 600, 1,000 jobs, a new company to really light the building up.”
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.
