PROVIDENCE – The developers behind a residential project at the site of the former Citizens Bank in Providence are now planning an 8,333-square-foot third-story addition to the annex building attached to the historic property in the Federal Hill neighborhood.
Omni 870W LLC is scheduled to go before the Providence City Plan Commission during its public meeting set for 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday seeking preliminary plan approval to construct a third story on top of the annex building connected to the temple-front Georgian Revival bank building at 870 Westminster St. The limited liability company is affiliated with the Omni Group, a Providence-based real estate investment and development company that was established in 1987.
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The addition would provide space for 11 dwelling units, according to an overview of the preliminary plan conducted by staff for the Providence Department of Planning and Development. That comes in addition to 22 apartments that were originally planned in the first two levels of the vacant building, the department said.
The apartments will be one-bedroom units, according to the preliminary plan overview.
The addition would raise the currently 27-foot-8-inch building to a new height of 39 feet and 6 inches, the preliminary plan overview states. The elevator shaft and stairs of the building will be extended to accommodate the new floor, according to the preliminary plan overview.
“Black fiber cement panels will be employed for the third story treatment, with the brick and stone cladding to remain on the first two stories,” according to the staff overview.
The subject lot is zoned C-2, where multifamily development is permitted by right, the overview states.
Planning department staff said the project meets the parking requirements of the city by providing 72 parking spaces for the 51 total dwelling units and commercial space in the annex and main bank building.
Omni 870W LLC already received approvals needed to move forward with a residential project in the main bank building in December last year. The developer is planning a residential development with 19 apartments and 3,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor in the three-story building at the intersection of Cranston and Westminster streets.
The 20,250-square-foot main bank building, constructed in the early 1920s, has been included in recent years on the Most Endangered Properties List published annually by the nonprofit Providence Preservation Society due to concerns of prolonged vacancy and neglect after Citizens Bank left the building in 2019.
The two-story annex building that runs along Westminster Street was constructed in 1970, according to an online Providence property assessment database. The limited liability company affiliated with The Omni Group bought the main bank building and the annex building, which are located on a 2.6-acre site, for $1.4 million in April 2020.
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.
