PROVIDENCE – The state has authorized a six-month lease of the R.I. Convention Center, which is being converted to a hospital annex for up to 600 COVID-19 patients.
The lease, authorized Wednesday by the State Properties Committee, will be used as an overflow facility for up to 600 low-acuity, or less-severe, patients, who would be both newly admitted and moving to the site from hospitals for continuing care, according to the lease document.
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The auxiliary hospital at 1 Sabin St., now under renovation, will join a former Lowe’s warehouse at Quonset Business Park and a former Citizens Bank building in Cranston. Those leases were approved last week.
The first priority, according to Rhode Island health officials, is to treat patients within established hospitals. But the alternate sites would accommodate up to 1,000 more people if the state experiences a need for that many.
The convention center lease will be for $660,000 a month for up to six months. The state can renew with 30 days’ notice. The lease covers 365,000 square feet of space.
According to the document, the third floor of the convention center will be for patients, while the fourth floor would be for command/administrative space. The fifth floor would include a dining hall for medical personnel, possible dorms for nurses and doctors, and offices for Lifespan Corp. and other personnel.
Parking is available in the convention center’s south garage.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
