CENTRAL FALLS – The board that oversees the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility is asking five pre-qualified contractors to submit a guaranteed price and schedule for an expansion of the jail that would more than double its capacity.
The Central Falls Detention Facility Corp. is seeking the bids based on preliminary plans to renovate 19,700 square feet of existing space and add about 81,300 square feet, including 338 new beds and support service space as well as enhanced integrated security systems. The board has been trying to buy land directly across from the facility as part of the expansion plan, but is now looking for alternatives.
The expansion is contingent upon obtaining proper financing. Project underwriters Piper Jaffrey are now marketing bonds to potential investors.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
Learn More
Opened in 1993, the Wyatt center is a 302-bed facility for medium- to maximum-security federal detainees awaiting trial or sentencing. It was built to serve the U.S. Marshals Service and is operated by Cornell Corrections, a national company.
T.F. Green passenger traffic on upswing
WARWICK – Passenger traffic at T.F. Green Airport has rebounded nearly to pre-Sept. 11 levels, with growth in all but two of the first nine months of the year and a total year-to-date increase of 4.56 percent, to nearly 4.1 million passengers.
The airport’s July passenger count – 548,030 – was the highest since August 2001, and while the August and September 2004 numbers were somewhat lower, reflecting seasonal variations, both show substantial year-to-year improvement. In September, 438,113 passengers went through the airport, an 8.1-percent gain.
Different airlines, however, have fared very differently. Southwest Airlines, already the top carrier, has gained more ground, with a month’s worth of extra passengers so far this year, or nearly 1.6 million total, a 10.8-percent gain. Runner-up U.S. Airways is also up, by 6.7 percent, with 826,380 passengers so far.
Delta Airlines, meanwhile, has lost more than two months’ worth of passengers this year, a 19.9-percent drop, for a nine-month total of 431,265. United Airlines has seen a 3.7-percent drop in jet flight passengers so far this year, but its United Express commuter service (Trans States Airlines) overwhelmingly dominates that market segment, with 41.4 percent of the 35,546 passengers served in September.
