PROVIDENCE – The long-vacant Lighthouse Inn at the Port of Galilee in Narragansett is set for demolition, with the state on the hook to pay for it, according to court documents.
The R.I. Department of Environmental Management will fund the demolition of the former motel, which is located on state land at 307 Great Island Road, according to an agreement signed by the state and the company that operates parking on the site filed in R.I. Superior Court on Oct. 31.
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Through the R.I. Department of Administration and the R.I. Division of Purchases, DEM “will be proceeding with a Request For Proposals and associated contracting process to obtain a general contractor, and other related professionals as necessary, to undertake the demolition, debris removal, and site restoration of the former motel,” according to the court documents.
The former Lighthouse Inn, a hotel building once known as the Dutch Inn across the street from the Block Island Ferry, has been closed since 2015 after the former owners filed for bankruptcy.
It is unclear when the structure, which was built in 1970, will be officially razed. DEM issued the RFP on Nov. 2 and will be accepting proposals for the work until Nov. 30.
PRI X LLC has long been using the property as a parking lot, charging people to park there while they’re away on the Block Island Ferry. Two lots on the seaside property, which gained a reputation in recent years for attracting sea gulls and an unpleasant stench, have historically been used for parking.
According to the court documents, DEM will need to provide PRI X no less than 10 days of notice of the specific work the state plans to undertake. However, the demolition will “not interfere with PRI X’s operations or parking lots on the site,” according to court documents.
However, WPRI-TV CBS 12 reported Tuesday the Narragansett Town Council has concerns over the DEM’s plans for the property.
“The 5-acre site has tremendous development potential that can greatly benefit the state and town,” Narragansett Town Council President Ewa Dzwierzynski told WPRI. “We think it can be much more than surface parking.”
Dzwierzynski told WPRI the future of the Lighthouse Inn property is part of the town’s comprehensive master plan, which “envisions a future that better utilizes the land for a mix of commercial uses that will complement the fishing industry, tourism and recreation.”
“The state claims to have complete autonomy over this land,” she continued. “For me, the most unsettling aspects of this situation are that the state may demolish private property with taxpayer funds, the state has not rejected a lease renewal despite a breach of material terms and there is no apparent future vision for this site other than continued surface parking that has been made public … all while the lease holder enjoys great profits from parking revenue.”
Dzwierzynski added that the town has “great interest” in the land’s future use.
“The town would welcome the opportunity to be a partner in the future vision for Galilee,” Dzwierzynski said.
This isn’t the first time DEM has tried to raze the property.
In March of 2022, DEM denied three bids to develop the site, including one from PRI X, which is a joint venture involving Providence real estate developer and former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. and Procaccianti Cos. The bids were from a company called iCell Aqua Inc. that wanted to establish a $30 million facility to process fish; the PRI X bid for a retail center and boutique hotel; and the town of Narragansett, which proposed a mixed-use development featuring offices, housing, a hotel and restaurant.
The proposals, which were ultimately determined to be unviable, were reviewed by a team consisting of employees from DEM and R.I. Commerce Corp.
The Port of Galilee is the biggest port in Rhode Island and is one of the busiest ports on the Atlantic Coast, according to the R.I. Department of Environmental Management, with landings at the port totaling 48 million pounds of seafood that were valued at more than $68 million in 2019.
Rhode Island’s fisheries and seafood sector account for more than 3,100 jobs and $538 million in gross sales, with indirect associated effects from the sector contributing to a combined 4,300 jobs and nearly $420 million annually in economic impact, according to DEM.
