PROVIDENCE – The historic St. Joseph’s Hospital property and six adjacent parcels will be converted into an adaptive reuse housing project under the ownership of Knight & Swan LLC, which recently purchased the premises from Paolino Properties LLC.
Paolino Properties, owned by former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr., acquired the property in 2017, with plans to convert the building into housing for people experiencing homelessness, including homeless veterans.
Since that time, Paolino has "explored multiple adaptive reuse concepts in an effort to identify a sustainable path forward," the company said in a Tuesday announcement.
New York-based Knight & Swan, a privately held real estate development company, will convert the approximately 250,000-square-foot former hospital into residential units, said developer Federico Manaigo.
Prior considerations for the site included a 2020 proposal by Paolino to donate portions of the property for redevelopment into a public school, which R.I. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green and then-Mayor Jorge O. Elorza determined was cost prohibitive.
"St. Joseph’s has a long and important history in Providence," Paolino said in a statement. "Our goal has always been to see this property revitalized in a way that contributes positively to the neighborhood and the city as a whole. We believe Knight & Swan brings the experience, creativity and commitment to urban regeneration necessary to realize that vision."
Earlier this month, Paolino scheduled the site for auction from Feb. 10-12. The companies did not immediately disclose financial details of the transaction or specific plans for the property.
Located at 21 Peace St., the hospital was founded in 1892. The hospital cut back on and eventually eliminated emergency and inpatient services in the 1990s and 2000s, and in 2019 shuttered its last remaining facility, the St. Joseph School of Nursing.
"Historic properties like St. Joseph’s [offer] a rare opportunity to shape the next chapter of a neighborhood’s story, while bringing new life to a vacant complex," Manaigo said in a statement. "Our experience has shown that preservation and innovation can coexist, that old buildings can once again become anchors of vitality, while also providing new, much-needed housing units. With St. Joseph’s, we intend to honor its architectural and civic history while reimagining it as a place of renewed purpose, investment, and enduring value for South Providence."
Knight & Swan previously oversaw the redevelopment of the Stedman & Fuller Manufacturing Co. Complex, a 100,000-square-foot mixed-use redevelopment in the city's West End, as well as the ROOMS&WORKS and Pilgrim Lofts redevelopments.
In the same announcement sharing news of the hospital property sale, Paolino said he will donate the Peace & Plenty Gardens property to the Southside Community Land Trust.
The garden, established more than three decades ago, is now home to shared green space that supports food production, education initiatives, and other health and community connections in the neighborhood.
Mayor Brett P. Smiley said the latest plans for the site mark "an important step in meeting Providence’s housing needs while preserving a significant historic landmark."
"This long-vacant property has been a priority for our administration, and its next iteration is the kind of forward-looking investment our neighborhoods need," Smiley continued. "Together, historic preservation and thoughtful redevelopment creates lasting value for the surrounding community and we look forward to working with the developers as they shepherd this property's next chapter."
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
