JOSEPH R. PAOLINO JR., even after three decades removed from being Providence mayor, still has his finger firmly on the pulse within the city – at least from a real estate perspective.
The managing partner of Paolino Properties LP continues to be a major player in real estate investments in Providence. His firm had a hand in constructing the Homewood Suites by Hilton on Exchange Street in 2019, capitalizing on a hotel market that grew exponentially within the city.
Paolino’s firm, through a limited liability company, in 2018 purchased a 148,000-square-foot federal building on Westminster Street for $15.3 million. The structure was fully occupied at the time of the purchase and had several federal agencies as tenants, including the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Secret Service.
One of Paolino’s significant real estate projects was completing the $8 million renovation of the 1859 Case-Mead building at 76 Dorrance St. in Providence in 2018, converting former office space into apartments. The building was originally acquired by Paolino’s late father in 1968 and was Paolino Properties’ headquarters for more than four decades before it moved to 100 Westminster St.
That renovation project garnered Paolino local recognition, including from the R.I. Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, for preserving the historic former office building.
Paolino in 2019 also gained a high-rolling tenant in his primary office building, with Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc. – now called Bally’s Corp. – moving its headquarters to the 10th floor of 100 Westminster St. In 2021, despite the hotel industry still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, Paolino opened a new hotel, The Beatrice, in Providence.
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