The Quonset Development Corporation is moving full-steam ahead with its redevelopment plans for Quonset Business Park.
W. Geoffrey Grout, CEO of the corporation, told the Smaller Business Association of New England that after two years of looking for a suitable developer for the 50-acre “gateway” to the park, QDC chose New Boston Partners LLC of Boston as the preferred developer for the project. Plans for the project call for mixed-use development of amenities that can serve businesses and their employees within the park, Grout said. The project site has 600 feet of frontage on Route 1 in North Kingstown.
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The QDC began courting developers for the gateway site in December 2004.
The gateway project is a key part of attracting more businesses to Quonset, Grout said. While more than 6,500 employees presently work for 150 businesses there, the industrial park has a projected capacity of 18,000 workers.
“The park needs more amenities to make it more attractive to prospective business residents,” Grout said. New Boston’s selection means they will have the exclusive option period to negotiate site control and begin the project approval process, the QDC said. Construction is projected to begin in 2006.
The QDC has been working for two years as a special purpose subsidiary of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. One of the first important steps the QDC had to take to effectively market the property, Grout said, was to separate the real estate development project from the EDC development project.
“They have two different missions,” Grout said. “We needed a way to make effective decisions.”
Prior to the QDC’s formation, Grout said businesses were reluctant to consider building at Quonset because of the difficulty in obtaining a building permit.
“We needed a way to change that,” Grout said. The QDC subsequently created a design review committee that considers building proposals, easing the construction process.
Grout said the QDC’s mission statement expresses a commitment to finding and courting businesses and developers who can handle creating jobs, tax base and investment in Quonset.
Part of the marketing process for the park involved the creation of site-specific initiatives, including designating 10 50-acre tracts of land for sale to large businesses. The QDC has also designated many two-acre sites for sale, Grout said. Land purchased in Quonset doesn’t have to be owner-occupied, he added.
Another initiative calls for creating “pad-ready” sites that are prepared for swift construction.
The construction of a “flex” building would be another way to attract businesses to Quonset in a speedier manner, Grout said.
“It could be built in four months and have tenants move in … we need to be able to move faster,” Grout said.
Many of the old airplane hangars on the property are in the process of being demolished to make way for new construction. Grout said roughly $11 million will be spent on demolition and another $31 million on road construction. A crumbling bulkhead on the waterfront will cost another $7 million to repair. The state has spent $154 million on Quonset to date.
“The state will be spending about $77,000 per developable acre to invest in Quonset,” Grout said.
