development of a waterfront site in Warren.
On a gravelly strip of land along the Warren River, just down from Warren’s charming Water Street, developers thought a few dozen posh condos were a good idea.
Town residents and businesses thought otherwise.
Now, a plan hurriedly cobbled together over the past year to snatch the 2.5-acre strip of waterfront from the jaws of development is crystallizing. In a certainly rare if not unique blend of historic preservation and economic development, the town has partnered with the Trust for Public Land, a national, nonprofit conservation group, to bring new businesses to the Warren waterfront while keeping public access and preserving several historic structures.
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On Monday, the Trust for Public Land is expected to sign a $1.67 million purchase agreement for one of the two properties included in the proposal: a 1.25-acre tract owned by Eastern Yacht Services Inc. A second, adjacent property of similar size, known as Harbor Marine Inc., will be acquired later this year for another $1.6 million.
Once the deals are inked, the trust plans to gradually resell parcels to more than a half-dozen private businesses. At least three buyers have signed agreements and the trust hopes to have all six parcels on the Eastern Yacht properties sold by the end of November, according to Christie Anderberg, project manager at the Trust for Public Land’s Boston office.
Prospective buyers include a mix of maritime businesses and low-key attractions: a boat-repair shop, a canoe and kayak outfitter, a fish and farmer’s market and art studios. Two Colonial houses on the property that date back to the mid-19th century also will be sold and remain residential.
“This will be a real shot in the arm for the town’s economy,” said Davison G. Bolster, chairman of the 14-member commission appointed by the town to study the project. “We’re essentially bringing in eight to 10 businesses all at once, and that should attract other businesses along Water Street and eventually spill out onto Main Street,” which is just two blocks up from the water.
In all, the weed-strewn stretch of roughly 850 feet of riverfront – south of the Barrington Yacht Club and adjacent to the popular Wharf Tavern restaurant on Water Street – includes a jumble of structures in various states of disrepair. A clapboard, barn-like building, once used for boat building, sits vacant; an ugly aluminum steeple – an odd relic from a church that once occupied the site – stands amid tall weeds; water laps gently against a rusting, unused dry dock.
But aside from a few old shacks with no historic value, the trust will require all the structures on the two properties to be saved and presumably restored by the new businesses. Despite the costs associated with such restoration, Bolster said there has been a wave of interest from businesses.
“When we started out, people said ‘you’re not going to find any marine businesses that are going to want to move down here,’” he said. “Now we have more businesses than we have room for.”
Once the Harbor Marine property is purchased, the trust plans to transfer most of that 1.25-acre parcel to the town of Warren for use as a waterfront park, town marina and possibly a ferry landing. A 10,000-square-foot, two-story warehouse on the site could be the future home of the fish and farmer’s market should negotiations work out, Bolster said.
A 6-foot-wide public walkway will line the waterfront of both sites.
“The public access, guaranteeing the public can get down to the water, in perpetuity, will keep it a working waterfront and preserve Warren’s seaside character,” Anderberg said.
The ferry landing is the most ambitious element of the plan. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation has earmarked $500,000 for the project, which would involve tearing out the dry dock.
Although Bolster said the project might foster some “local tourism,” he said it is for the benefit of town residents to enjoy water access, a local market and, eventually, waterfront festivals and other events. He added that the site is within walking distance of roughly a quarter of Warren’s 12,000 residents.
The town and the Trust for Public Land got some help from long-time Warren businessman Luther Blount, owner of Blount-Barker Shipbuilding, Rent-A-Cruise and several other businesses in town. In August of last year, Blount pledged $1 million toward the acquisition of the properties – as long as a string of conditions were met. Chief among them: no residential development.
“When my father heard of the possibility of condos, he wanted to make sure that Warren continued as a working seaport,” said Julie Blount, Luther Blount’s daughter and the director of administration for Blount-Barker Shipbuilding, which lies just south of the property. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our waterfront to be developed the right way.”
The Trust for Public Land is dedicated to conserving land for people to enjoy as parks and open space.
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