The former People’s Savings Bank is the latest commercial building in the
heart of downtown Providence being tapped for residential space.
Algen Construction and Development Corp., a former New York-based company originally set to redevelop the Masonic Temple in 2001, will head the project, which will include nine condominium units and one commercial space.
The decision to convert the building into condos “had a lot to do with banks not wanting to deal with financing office space, since there is so much vacant space downtown,” said project manager Karl Swanson. “It’s not favorable in general, and people really want to live downtown.”
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Algen’s development of the former bank is the latest in a succession of redevelopment projects downtown that have aimed to turn underused or vacant office buildings into high-end condos. Some of these high-profile projects include The Cosmopolitan on Fountain Street, and the Alice and Lerner buildings near City Hall.
The six-story former bank building faces Kennedy Plaza on one side and Westminster Street on the other.
Each floor is expected to have two condo units; the building is actually cut in half with two towers, Swanson said, so units on the Kennedy Plaza side would be larger, about 1,800 square feet, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The smaller units on the Westminster side will be about 900 square feet, with one or two bedrooms and one bathroom.
Prices for the units will range from $276,900 to $699,000. Swanson said the commercial space, which occupies the majority of the basement, would most likely be leased. Algen, which considers Providence to be its world headquarters, now occupies the majority of the fourth floor on the Westminster Street side and CVS is on the bottom floor facing Kennedy Plaza.
According to Glen Lombardi, principal broker for North Providence-based DiBiase Associates, which is managing the sale of the units, Algen started advertising the units at the beginning of the month. DiBiase currently has commitments for five of the nine units, though no one has purchased any yet, he said.
Swanson said Algen is currently knocking down walls to prepare the building for the conversion from offices to condos.
“We haven’t gone full-fledge on the construction,” Swanson said. “We’re in the process of doing that right now.”
There isn’t much demolition and reconstruction work to do, however. Because the building was formerly used as office space, it’s basically designed for living in, Swanson said, with the exception of some gutting that needs to be done.
Some of the amenities that will come standard in the units will be hardwood floors, marble bathrooms and stainless steel appliances. Those people who purchase early may have the opportunity to customize some elements of the unit, Swanson said. The other units will be built in the standard layout, he said.
The units on the Kennedy Plaza side are restricted in layout by the building’s design; the units on Westminster Street are like open rooms.
As to when the units might be completed, Swanson said he wasn’t sure of a date; Algen is currently completing paperwork for construction. Swanson did say, however, that the condos would be ready in less than a year.
