Nearly two years after the R.I. Department of Administration announced it was seeking new proposals for the landmark Shepard Building in downtown Providence – even considering selling the property – the state has chosen to keep the property in its portfolio and placed more government offices there.
At least for now.
Officials have relocated several state agencies into the six-story, 254,828-square-foot building at 259 Westminster St., a move that the administration called making “the best use of an owned asset.” And they’re looking to move in more.
In the last year, the R.I. Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner has pulled up stakes at its leased office space on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick and the R.I. Department of Housing has left its offices in a shared space at the R.I. Commerce Corp. on Iron Horse Way in Providence.
Both agencies have moved into the second floor of the Shepard Building, a former department store in the heart of downtown Providence that the state has owned for 30 years. Also, the R.I. Department of Human Services is preparing to set up a regional office on the ground floor of the building early next year, according to Karen Greco, Department of Administration director of public affairs.
Meanwhile, Rhode Island Reconnect, a program overseen by the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner to assist adult students in changing careers or learning a new trade, is also expected to occupy part of the first floor.
“Adding users gives the state the ability to reduce the overall cost of occupancy,” Greco said. “This building is well-positioned for public-facing services, as well as collaboration across agencies, so it’s an opportunity to maximize the space and provide more services in a highly accessible, prime location in the capital city. We are also – as part of a larger strategy – trying to move away from expensive leases.”
Plans to relocate other state agencies “are still in discussion,” Greco said. “At this juncture, we are not able to share any details.”
The future of the Shepard Building is crucial to the health of downtown. The structure is in a central location, taking up a full city block in what was once a thriving retail district between Westminster and Washington streets. While many nearby buildings have been converted to residential uses, most still have street-level storefronts.
The building, home to the Shepard Co. department store from the 1870s to 1974 when the company folded, has been owned by the state since 1993 and mostly had been occupied by the University of Rhode Island and the R.I. Department of Education over the years.
But that tenant makeup has shifted drastically in the last year or so. At one time, URI managed the building and occupied as much as 100,000 square feet, including biotech labs on the second and third floors, as well as the offices for the College of Business and the Ryan Institute for Neuroscience on the fourth and fifth floors.
That changed when the state Department of Administration signaled it was rethinking the Shepard Building’s future in 2023.
In 2023, the state issued a nonbinding request for information as it investigated the best use for the Shepard Building “whether that be a residential, retail, research, commercial, a combination of those options or public-private partners,” said then-Department of Administration Director James E. Thorsen.
Within a year, administration officials were making plans to shift agencies into the building.
URI said it started relocating offices in the summer of 2023, moving the employees from the College of Education and the College of Business who worked in Providence to the university’s main campus in South Kingstown. A URI spokesperson did not answer questions on the status of biotech labs in the building.
The nonprofit Man Up Inc., which provides education and employment support for formerly incarcerated men of color, is a “legacy tenant” from URI’s time managing the building and continues to rent about 1,000 square feet of office space, according to Greco.
In June, URI agreed to a three-year lease of 17,000 square feet on the first and third floors at $14.85 per square foot for the first year. (Data published by Hayes & Sherry Real Estate Services shows office rents in the Rhode Island market stood at $22.03 per square foot in the second quarter of this year.)
Under the new arrangement, URI’s Child Development Center has remained on the first floor, and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program still maintains a presence.
“URI has, for many decades, maintained a strong and visible presence in Providence,” said university spokesperson Dawn Bergantino. “We are committed to continuing that tradition and to providing education, research and service opportunities in Providence that serve and benefit all Rhode Islanders.
“We continually evaluate program needs, as well as how we can best meet the needs of the state and local communities, so future opportunities in Providence or elsewhere are a possibility. But for the time being, this is, for the most part, settled.”
And while the Shepard Building’s occupancy has increased, the state hasn’t necessarily given up on finding new uses for the building.
“There is a need right now to move away from expensive leases and enhance program collaboration across various sectors of state government,” Greco said. “With more space becoming available in the Shepard Building, the state was able to capitalize on this opportunity and make progress on those strategic goals.
“We are making the highest and best use of the building while the state considers all possible options for Shepard’s long-term future,” she said.
