Ask any Realtor what to do first when putting your home on the market. They will tell you the same thing. Trim those hedges, edge that lawn and break out some paint. Get rid of any clutter – inside and out – and by all means, brighten up the place.
In all likelihood, a modest investment of money and a commitment to making the property in question look better will result in a significantly higher selling price.
We are pleased to see this is the game plan being put in place at the former Navy base at Quonset Point/Davisville, where hundreds of acres of land remain available for sale or lease.
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Geoff Grout, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation’s managing director for Quonset, arrived on the scene with a background in commercial real estate and a determination for seeing that the state get fair market value when selling or leasing land there.
Grout knows the attributes that Quonset Point/Davisvlle has been touting for years – its accessibility by land, air and sea – by themselves are not enough.
While the state has had success in landing companies such as Toray Plastics and Job Lot, too many others have been turned off by a poor first impression, one that has included abandoned and dilapidated buildings, deteriorating roads and an overall unkempt appearance.
In recent years, the development of Quonset was also hindered by the lingering prospect of a deep-water container port being developed. Former Gov. Lincoln Almond’s dream of such a port carried on for years, dying only when a newly elected Gov. Don Carcieri put an end to it.
For years, the state tried to counter those negatives with the lure of cheap land. In fact, until recently, commercial tenants could grab land at Quonset for $1.15 a square foot or $50,000 per acre – far below the going rate of approximately $3 per square foot to as much as $4.50.
The cheap prices have not worked, and in fact, some commercial real estate professionals suggest that the existence of them has undercut industrial space all over the state, making it all the more difficult for them to sell developers property.
Grout’s approach has been to clean up Quonset – and starting now, to charge the $3 to $4.50 per square foot average commercial price. The idea is to bring in some high-end tenants and the good-paying jobs that come with them.
Time will tell if the approach is going to work. The state, as it should, is prepared to be reasonable. The new rates are negotiable. For example, a company might secure a cheaper rate in return for the promise of a certain number of jobs or a future expansion.
Hopefully, this approach will mark the beginning of real progress at Quonset. The state is trying to get a $48 million bond referendum for infrastructure improvements on the next statewide ballot. A similar referendum failed in the last election, in large part because voters were turned off by all the talk of a container port.
The state is also looking for a developer to rebuild the air terminal there, and perhaps, add corporate airplane hangars.
All of this is welcome news for a 3,000-acre parcel of land that remains, as it has often been described, an unpolished jewel.
